Santa parade draws massive crowd, kicks off Christmas season in Saskatoon
(Noah Rishaug/CTV News)
It was a month before Christmas, and ten thousand gathered round, as Santa and his parade made their way to Midtown.
The streets of downtown Saskatoon were lined with massive crowds, as thousands braved the chilly November weather to mark the start of the Christmas season.
Kim Ali, the event coordinator, says the annual parade is one of the city’s most beloved traditions, drawing attendees of all ages.
"We're happy to have a special event where everyone can join in, it’s fun for everyone. We have all kinds of activities for kids, there’s kids on the street as well as families, grandparents, teenagers out on dates and stuff like that. It's fun and its free," said Ali.
The parade featured floats from local businesses, sports teams, and community organizations, all decked out in festive decorations. Among them was a float for Haven Kids' House, the charity of choice for this year’s event. Their float headed by Haven Kids' House President Dionne Miazdyck-Shield.
"Haven kids house is a 24/7 facility for families who are facing an emergency. They can bring their kids to us, and we have ten beds to help children when families are in Crisis." said Miazdyck-Shield.
The organization operates a 24/7 emergency facility for families in crisis, offering ten beds for children in need. President Dionne Miazdyck-Shield says the funding raised from the parade will be crucial in keeping their doors open.
"We need to fundraise 350 thousand dollars a year to operate our emergency facility, that goes towards our staff, and buying food for kids, games, and all sorts of things that we need to run the house every day," said Miazdyck-Shield.
The event concluded with Santa’s grand arrival at Midtown Mall, where he will greet visitors for the remainder of the holiday season.
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