With not a flake of snow on the ground, it sure doesn't look much like Christmas. But you can get your festive spirit kickstarted Saturday evening with the official kickoff to the Christmas season, the Greater Sudbury Santa Claus Parade.
Right now, the weather is looking a bit nasty for the parade, with periods of rain or snow and a low of -1 C forecast, so dress the kids accordingly.
The Nov. 19 event begins with the Santa Watch Party, taking place from 2-5:30 p.m. in the municipal parking lot at the corner of Larch and Elgin streets.
The party includes live entertainment, free wagon rides and children's activities.
Northern Life/Sudbury.com gets in on the fun from 4-6 p.m. with our Santa's Cabin, right outside our building at 158 Elgin St.
We'll be giving away free hot cocoa and sweet treats, as well as copies of Sudbury Living Parents Magazine.
Sudbury.com is also planning to livestream the parade, so if you can't make it in person, check out our website Saturday evening.
The parade itself starts at 5:30 p.m., hitting Notre Dame Avenue, Elm Street, Durham Street, Larch Street, Minto Street and Elgin Street. It usually lasts about an hour and a half.
Featuring 57 floats, this year's parade has a “Fairytale Christmas” theme. The two grand marshals are snow princesses and the local a capella singing group Nickel City Sound.
The parade's last float features the Jolly Old Elf himself — Santa. Immediately following the parade, at around 7:15 p.m., is a fireworks display launched behind the McEwen School of Architecture.
Downtown Sudbury executive director Maureen Luoma, one of the parade's organizers, said the event usually attracts about 30,000 people.
“For a one-day event, it absolutely is great,” she said. “I think it's because it's the kickoff to the Christmas season. It's Santa. It draws a lot of people.
“This is the 16th year for the night parade. Since moving to the night parade it really has brought it up a notch. The whole atmosphere with it being at night and the lights twinkling, it just seems to truly be magical. Everybody loves it.”
Learn more about the parade at SudburySantaClausParade.com.
