Duane Hicks
Santa Claus is coming to town.
The 2016 “Community Christmas Parade” is set for Saturday, Nov. 26, with this year’s theme being “Songs of Christmas.”
The parade will start at 5:30 p.m. at Reid Avenue and proceed west along Scott Street, ending at Mowat Avenue (the public is asked to stay off Reid Avenue and watch the parade from Scott Street).
Parade co-ordinator Scott Krienke-Turvey of Ink Spotz Apparel+ is enthusiastic about spearheading the event for a second year.
“Twenty minutes after the last one was done, I was looking forward to this year,” he told the Times yesterday afternoon.
First and foremost, a parade needs floats, and those wishing to enter one are asked to pre-register them by e-mailing ffsanta2016@gmail.com or calling the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce at 274-5773.
Regarding the “Songs of Christmas” theme, Krienke-Turvey said float entries can be based on Christmas songs secular or religious.
He added the most important thing is to be “loud and proud.”
A parade also needs volunteers, including float judges and security to watch the intersections and make sure traffic doesn’t drive through the parade procession.
Those who want to volunteer can e-mail ffsanta2016@gmail.com or call the Chamber and either ask organizers what tasks are needed to be done or tell them what tasks you’d like to do.
Organizers will try and match the right volunteers with the right jobs.
A call for donations to help repair Santa’s sleigh last year was met with overwhelming support from local businesses and residents, recalled Krienke-Turvey, and he’s very thankful for that.
“We still have a little bit of coin in the kitty from last year because we went beyond what we needed to raise,” he noted.
But organizers still would appreciate donations of candy to give out at the parade this year.
