The Kinsmen Club of Sarnia once again needs your help to welcome Santa Claus to town.
Their 39th annual Santa Claus Parade is set for December 7 at 6 p.m., but the club is looking to raise about $20,000 through donations to make the event possible.
"Essentially the majority of it goes to paying the transportation for the bands that we invite to come to Sarnia," said President Bob Marks. "The schools will not pay for any extracurricular activities, so if we want the bands, we're going to have to pay their busing."
Marks said they're expecting another big turnout.
"We've had guesses of 15,000, 20,000, 30,000 people attending. It's 4.5 kilometres long, the entire parade route, and they're packed three and four deep pretty well the whole distance, and the intersections are more crowded than that, they're 20 and 30 deep," he said. "We usually have between 30 to 40 floats and they're all lit up, being a night parade of course. The various industries, socials clubs, service clubs, and churches make entries into the parade."
Marks said he's expecting this year's event to be bigger, better and brighter than ever.
"It's grown from a morning parade during the daytime and I think it was about 1988 that we took a chance on changing it to night and calling it a light parade, themed by Santa Claus of course. Over the years the floats have just increased in lighting, themes, decorations, so it's quite a spectacle."
Marks said this year's parade theme One Christmas Night can date right back to the birth of Christ, or right up to something special you have planned this year.
To make a donation or sponsor the parade, contact Bob Marks at 519-542-8438 or send a cheque payable to the Sarnia Kinsmen Club P.O. Box 861, Sarnia, Ontario, N7T 7J9,
Donations can also be dropped off at Tourism Sarnia Lambton, or the Kinsmen Club of Sarnia, at 1455 Venetian Blvd.
For a full list of items needed at the Petrolia Food Bank, click here.
