OBAN REINDEER PARADE
The ever-popular Reindeer Parade and visit from Santa and Christmas lights switch-on in Oban takes place on Saturday November 23. The event is one of the biggest draws in the Oban calendar. Oban Business Improvement District (BID4Oban) fully funds the parade. Andrew Spence from BID said: ‘We are glad to support the Oban Winter Festival with the reindeer parade and lights switch-on.’
This is the eighth year that Santa has arrived in town in style, thanks to Oban Business Improvement District with help from Rotary Club of Oban, Oban Lions Club and Cairngorm Reindeer Company plus the hard work of Oban Electrical Services getting the lights ready for Christmas.
The reindeer will be travelling from their home in the Cairngorms on Saturday morning and, along with Santa Claus their first stop will be to visit the residents of Eadar Glinn Care Home to hand out some early Christmas presents. The parade starts at 5pm on Saturday November 23 from the Corran Halls. A special thanks in advance go to Police Scotland, Argyll and Bute Council and the Auxiliary Coastguard for keeping everyone safe.
During the summer you will find BID4Oban hard at work with hanging baskets and helping the town make the best first impression so it can prosper with activities like guided walks and Town Ambassadors. The Reindeer Parade and the Christmas lights switch-on ceremony is part of its remit to help extend the season and is its contribution to the work done by the winter festival committee.
This year Oban Business Improvement District has awarded the winter festival an additional £4,000 to support and sustain this fantastic event. More than 3,000 people turned out to watch last year’s Christmas lights switch-on. Oban Pipe Band leads the parade, then comes Santa in his sleigh. Oban FM joins in the fun at Station Square. There are also fairground rides for tots, Argyll Hog Roast, Dougie Dan’s van and Taste of Argyll on hand to cater for hungry appetites during and after the parade. If that’s not enough to fill you up, visit one of the numerous pubs, restaurants or takeaways. The reindeer will be in Station Square for about an hour after the parade before returning to the Cairngorm mountains. They have a busy schedule this year and will be recharging their batteries in preparation for their nightshift on December 25!