‘Santa!’: Annual parade draws thousands in Kitchener, Waterloo

Onlookers lined up in the cold to see jolly old Saint Nicholas

Marching bands, elves and a giant inflatable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are all well and good, but most children lined up on Weber Street on Saturday had only one thing in mind.

“Santa!” a young girl, jumping up and down and waving, yelled as Saint Nicholas appeared on his sleigh.

Thousands of people turned out for the hour-long Lions Club of Kitchener Santa Claus Parade, which started at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Frederick and Weber streets in Kitchener and travelled 2.8 kilometres down Weber to Erb Street East in Waterloo.

Conditions were perfect with snow on the ground and a temperature of 0 C. When the wind picked up, it felt like a chilly -5.

“I think it’s colder here than the North Pole,” Santa told the crowd.

He was kidding. The temperature at home was -30 C, or -44 with the wind chill.

The jolly old elf seemed spry and chipper despite his age — 1,748. A Record investigation found he uses something called “Christmas magic” to look like a

man in his mid-70s.

“Make sure you get your letters in early,” he told the children. “And don’t forget my cookies. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Oh, I just love chocolate chip cookies. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas to you!”

Santa then led the crowd in singing “Jingle Bells.” He waved to people on the street and others watching from a 16th-floor apartment balcony.

The parade ended on a sour note when it was discovered that someone stole the Lions Club’s generators, worth $5,000. A $500 reward has been offered to get them back.

Santa had a busy day on Saturday. At night he was set to be in the Cambridge Santa Claus Parade on Hespeler Road.

Half an hour before the Kitchener-Waterloo parade started, hundreds of people wearing full Santa suits — jacket, pants, hat, beard and belt — took off in an annual fun run called the Santa Pur-suit. They were joined by a dog wearing antlers.

The fun run followed the parade route and raised money for YMCAs in Waterloo Region.

“There are approximately 350 participants today, so a lot of Santa Clauses,” volunteer Merlin Frey said. “We’re being impostors like crazy.”

The real Santa wouldn’t mind. Imitation, some say, is the sincerest form of flattery.

DAVID BEBEE WATERLOO REGION RECORD Santa Claus waves to children along the Weber Street route of the annual Santa Claus parade on Saturday.

DAVID BEBEE WATERLOO REGION RECORD Lucas Shantz, 2, is looking cozy, bundled up as he waits with his family for Santa Claus to appear.

Members of the Contemporary School of Dance wave to the Santa Claus parade crowd along the annual event’s Weber Street route.

Patient parade onlookers got the chance to see Santa and Mrs. Claus, who waved to the large crowd of children and parents who lined Hespeler Road on Saturday.

A Christmas greeting is spelled out by walkers along the Weber Street route of the annual Santa Claus parade on Saturday.

Children perch on a railing with their parents close by to get a better look as the ceremonial band of the Waterloo Regional Police pass by during the annual Santa Claus parade.

A large crowd of children and parents lined up in the cold along Hespeler Road for a chance to see Santa Claus.

The Grinch waves from a Community Living Cambridge float on Hespeler Road in the Preston area of Cambridge, during the annual parade.

A festive dog named Georgia walks in step with her owner on Weber Street during the annual Santa Claus parade on Saturday.

A group of young drummers play for a large crowd of children and parents who braved chilly temperatures to watch the annual holiday parade.

Three children enjoy receiving high fives from a parade participant in a bird costume during the annual Santa Claus parade.