LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN
Santa greets the thousands of people who gathered to see the annual Vancouver Santa Claus Parade on Sunday. VPD’s Motorcycle Drill Team, dozens of floats, hundreds of dancers, a complement of elves, bands and even Grinch kept people entertained.
It may be hard to out-Christmas Santa Claus, but David and Cathie Watters may have done just that.
The Delta couple arrived several hours before the big man from the North Pole flew through the intersection of West Georgia and Burrard on Sunday during Vancouver’s annual Santa Claus Parade. That they arrived early was not altogether notable, considering that hundreds had done the same in the hopes of a prime seat on a street curb or a comfortable spot in the sun.
David and Cathie earned their Christmas chops for their festive hats, complete with working light bulbs, and one more spectacular detail — Cathie keeps her Christmas tree up, lit and fully decorated, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in a dedicated Christmas room in her home.
For David, Christmas means family, a sense of giving, and the opportunity to help where he’s needed. For the past five years, he and Cathie have handed out sandwiches and clothing in the Downtown Eastside with a neighbourhood group called Magical Hearts.
The pair got their Christmas spirit years ago after moving from Winnipeg to Vancouver.
They held an open house on Christmas Eve for about 20 others who had nowhere to go for the holiday, and they just kept repeating it each year. They are now up to about 100 regulars, including Santa Claus himself.
But on Sunday, Santa was on duty at the tail end of a parade that entertained a few hundred thousand people under brilliant blue December skies.
The parade started with a police motorcade escort complete with lights and sirens. Members of the VPD’s Motorcycle Drill Team wove in and out of figure 8s to help clear the streets for dozens of floats, hundreds of dancers, a complement of elves, and one incarcerated Grinch with furry green fingers nearly as long as his rap sheet.
The biker gang was pursued by members of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, who were presumably enlisted to wake napping babies and persuade people to get off their cellphones. Those who didn’t get the message the first time around were then hit with a rendition of O Come, All Ye Faithful, by the VPD’s pipe band.
Kids with the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Coast B.C. float danced to pop beats ahead of teens in the Burnaby North Secondary School Vikings Marching Band.