THUNDER BAY – There was an excitement and a chill in the air today, as we waited for the city bus to take us to Intercity Mall, where we would watch the 2012 Santa Claus Parade. As we rode the bus, more and more people boarded with smiles and festive attire.
Somebody was coming to visit Thunder Bay today. He wore a big red coat and hat, big black boots and had some magical reindeer pulling his sleigh.
Exhilarated children and parents wait for the parade to start.
The fun and excitement was about to begin as Mayor Keith Hobbs rode the first float in the parade. Beautiful floats from Wasaya, Aboriginal Headstart, Radio Stations, West Jet, Knights of Columbus and many more, paraded down Memorial Avenue today.
There were over 40 floats with happy people waving from them.
Many people in the parade wore fun costumes, making the children smile and laugh. Mascots clowns and children handed out candy to eager consumers. Music trumpeted from vehicles and floats. You could hear laughter and delight everywhere you went.
One of Santa’s helper, a clown, came by to ask the children if they were naughty or nice. Destiny was asked and when the clown opened her binder the mirror showed Destiny as naughty. Luckily, Nyssa was there and her mirror listed her as nice.
The parade was passing its first hour and we found a recipe for today. It went as follows; 1/2 cup of joy, dash of spirit, 1 tsp of cheer, and 4 smurfs. I can tell you from the atmosphere… there was an abundance of ingredients.
Finally, Santa float arrived. The children were crying of glee as Santa shouted, “HO HO HO!!! His lovely wife seated beside him, they waved and greeted Thunder Bay with joy. A few more floats went by including the armoury and some horses were the grand finale.
A gridlock of traffic received some reprieve after the parade. This parade went from our Community Auditorium down Memorial Avenue to the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition grounds. Within 20 minutes, it was back to normal and all trash cans, in place for the parade, were removed. However, some little tuckered out children need a nap.
Written by; Raven and Destiny Linklater
Photograhy by; Raven and Destiny Linklater
