Guess who’s coming to town!
All you need to know about Sunday’s Santa Claus Parade
Spectators lining Toronto’s streets for the historic Santa Claus Parade this year are in for a real treat.
The free event, which is ringing in its 114th year, will unveil the largest floats ever showcased during the parade.
The fun starts at 12:30 p.m. at Christie Pits on Sunday.
Each year, children and grown-ups alike flock to see cheery celebrity clowns, marching bands, mascots and contemporary and timeless characters. Of course, everyone is excited to catch a glimpse of the star of the day, Santa Claus himself.
As the beloved show grows annually, some traditions remain treasured, said Peter Beresford, chairman and CEO of the parade, who has volunteered with the organization for the past 36 years.
“The principal creative themes are nursery rhymes and fairy tales, bigger-than-life animals, bigger-than-life vehicles that are meant to fascinate children and create an awe for them when they’re sitting on the sidewalk looking up,” Beresford said.
“We don’t change the concept of nurs- ery rhymes and fairy tales, but we do modernize,” he said. Pop culture-themed floats, such as Nickelodeon’s Girl Power and Nintendo’s Pokémon, are examples of just that.
“It’s just an evolution of time,” Beresford said.
“We’re looking to be fun and to be different. We want to make sure there is incredible magic when the floats are unveiled. The reward for us are the smiles on the faces of the kids on the side of the street and, even though
The Santa Claus Parade is one of Toronto’s most anticipated annual events that bring together everyone — young and old — to marvel at the spectacular floats that saunter by on its traditional route from Christie Pits to downtown Toronto.
This year marks the 114th time the big guy in red has returned to the city, delighting hundreds of thousands of families every year. However, when the parade first made its mark in Toronto in1905, it wasn’t the spectacle it has grown to be today. In fact, in that very first parade, there weren’t any floats at all.
“The first Santa Claus Parade was simply Santa Claus arriving at Union Station by train and walking with his entourage from Union Station to the Eaton’s store on Queen St.,” says Alfred Iannarelli, general manager and creative director of the Santa Claus Parade. “So many people followed behind Santa that year to watch him that they thought, ‘Oh, maybe next year, we’ll add a float or two.’ And that’s how it all began.”
As the parade grew in popularity over the years, the floats grew with more innovative designs and features. By 1914, the floats, which were pulled by horses, attracted parade watchers with their fun — but maybe not-so-safe — embellishments.
“They did stuff back then that we wouldn’t do now for safety reasons,” Iannarelli says.
“One year they had a giant 30foot teeter-totter that was designed like a crocodile. Guys would stand on top of it to make it go up and down and people would jump up and down on it, with nothing protecting them from falling off! A lot of things were more acceptable back then than they are now.”
Iannarelli, who has been with the parade since 1970, says he has witnessed first-hand the evolution of the parade floats.
“Back then, there wasn’t as much attention to detail as the floats have now,” he says. “They were much smaller and not as elaborate.”
This year, while there won’t be any death-defying crocodile stunt floats, what parade-watchers can look forward to is 32 spectacular floats, sure to amaze.
“It’s going to be a great show, as always,” Iannarelli says. “We really put our hearts and souls into these floats.”
Iannarelli says this year’s parade will feature a lot of characters that are bigger and better than ever.
“We really pushed the limits on size and colours this year,” he says. “You’ll see more fluorescent, brighter colours. The floats are larger and there’s a great deal of animation.”
Fan favourites are coming back this year, including Pokémon, Shimmer and Shine and Princess Warrior.
“We were able to bring more licensed characters to the parade this year, in addition to sports figures. And, of course, all the traditional favourites, including nursery rhyme charac- ters will make their return.
“We also have a Toronto Raptor on one float, Maple Leaf mascot Carlton the Bear on another, and even have some Olympians making an appearance.”
With the detail that goes into each float, it’s easy to see why planning and building each float starts at the beginning of each year. To make each float unique and innovative, the Santa Claus parade works with a team of artists, carpenters and sponsors year-round.
“A lot of work goes into this parade,” Iannarelli says. “When you’re building at least 26 new floats, from conception to finish, it takes the full year.”
Iannarelli says planning starts in January when officials sit down with individual sponsors to discuss what they want to accomplish with their float.
“They have their ideas, we have ours. Next, we come up with sketches and then go back and forth until everyone is happy. Sponsors are involved all the way.”
The result is a parade that attracts too many Torontonians to count. The Toronto police tell them they are at capacity each and every year.
“We work all year and we’re so focused on building it and then the day comes when we can enjoy the fruits of our labour and see all the faces watch the parade go by,” he says.
“To see the little ones that believe it’s all real is so worthwhile, so gratifying.”
It’s those magical moments that Iannarelli hopes will keep the parade afloat for many years to come.
“It never gets old,” he says. “We’ve been around for more than100 years and I hope it goes on for another 100 years.”