When Santa comes to Town on Saturday, Nov. 19, you can be sure that people of all ages will line the streets of Downtown and Kerr Village.
This year’s theme is All I Want for Christmas, and for years the parade has been part of a special story of giving back to our community.
Sometimes we get so caught up with the excitement of Christmas, we forget there are many who live in our community who go without over the holidays.
Oakville’s Santa Claus Parade has a long history of giving with its toy and food drives and the sale of red noses for charity to make our community a better place for those who are struggling.
On parade day, the Kinsmen Club of Oakville will collect non-perishable food items for the Salvation Army.
They encourage everyone to bring at least one non-perishable food item to the parade. Cash donations will also be accepted.
The Kinsmen Club is excited to once again partner with Whole Foods Market Oakville, which is providing in-kind support for the food drive.
For the first time in 15 years, on a Canadian Big Screen, Encore Cinemas and RetroFestive.ca will present three exclusive screenings of the Christmas classic, A Christmas Story.
Please join Encore Oakville Mews Cinemas after the Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 19 at either 11:30 a.m., 1:45 p.m. or 4 p.m. In lieu of admission, theatre-goers are asked to bring a donation to support the Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre’s Food Drive.
Items being accepted include cash donations, non-perishable food items and grocery store gift cards.
Every parent would agree that the joy on the face of a child on Christmas morning is what memories are made of.
But what about those families who struggle to place even one gift under the tree?
The Oakville Professional Firefighters firmly believe that every child deserves at least one special gift and so, once again this year, a crew will be on hand to accept new, unwrapped toys from parade-goers.
Bring a new, unwrapped gift with you on parade day. Gifts for older children are especially needed, so we remind those bringing gifts to not forget about children over the age of 12.
Both the Kinsmen Club and the firefighters will have trucks starting downtown at about 8:30 a.m. just before the official start of the parade and volunteers will be accepting your donations.
The Fun Group of Families and Friends of Falgarwood is celebrating its 18th year of selling noses for charity at the parade.
What began as a group of fun-loving clowns enjoying the parade with their children has grown, year after year, and the group hopes to boost its total proceeds to more than $30,000 this year.
Dressed as clowns, this group sells its famous red noses on parade day for $2 each, with all proceeds this year supporting Wellspring-Halton. Make sure when purchasing your nose, you get it from these clowns as they are the only group sanctioned by the parade for red nose sales.
They are easily identified by their red sweatshirts or red aprons.
The Kinsmen Club of Oakville, the Oakville Professional Firefighters and the Fun Group of Families and Friends of Falgarwood are the only groups authorized to accept your donations at the parade.
Sadly, other groups will sometimes take advantage of the generosity of the parade crowd by soliciting donations for "sick children” or other non-authorized groups.
Please support only those charities that have been approved by the Town of Oakville and the Oakville Santa Claus Parade.
The 2011 parade takes place Saturday, Nov. 19, beginning at 9 am.
The parade will begin at Lakeshore Road and Reynolds, go west on Lakeshore to Kerr Street, head north on Kerr and end at Kerr and Stewart streets.
For general information about the parade, visit the website at www.oakvillesantaclausparade.ca or leave a message at 905-815-5981.
— Submitted by the Oakville Santa Claus Parade Committee
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