With Christmas now just a little over four months away, a group of spirited locals are lobbying for the Town of Bonnyville to help rekindle a long lost local tradition – the Bonnyville Santa Claus parade.
It has been well over a decade since the municipality engaged in its own special downtown Christmas celebration and that's a streak this local Santa Claus parade committee, fronted by local teacher Vonda Worthman, is keen to bring to an end.
“It's been way too long (since this community) had a Santa Claus parade – I've never experienced one in the entire time I've lived here,” Worthman said. “I truly believe this is something the community needs. There are lots of young families here in Town and the kids absolutely love parades. There's just something about a Santa Claus parade that gets you into the spirit of Christmas… I'd really like to see one here in Bonnyville.”
After moving to the area in 2006, Worthman said she was “shocked” to find the community did not host its own Christmas parade.
“I was so shocked when Christmas came around that first year. I was looking (for information on the parade) and then (when) I found out there wasn't one, I couldn't believe it,” Worthman said.
According to the municipality, Bonnyville used to run an annual Santa Claus parade but stopped in the early 2000's after its last parade attracted just ten floats.
Since then locals have been forced to travel elsewhere to take in a Christmas parade. For Worthman, she's found herself traveling 30 minutes up Highway 28 with her family to attend the annual Cold Lake parade.
“We've been to the Cold Lake parade for the past seven or eight years,” Worthman said. “It's always a great parade, but it's not the same as having one in your own community.”
“Attending Santa Claus parades has always been a tradition for my family and it's sad that we are forced to travel to Cold Lake for it,” said a committee member. “There's no need to travel to another community to witness something we can have right here in Bonnyville.”
Although the group has yet to officially put forth any plans or expectations for the parade, other than a December 5 parade date, Worthman said she'd like to see it travel a similar route to the annual Canada Day parade. Although the weather won't be anywhere near as accommodating for a winter parade, Worthman believes there's still enough interest within the community to be able to have as many as 50 floats register.
“I think we absolutely have the ability to put on a parade just as big and just as good as the one in Cold Lake,” Worthman said. “This is a town with a lot of young families and people that enjoy participating in family events and I think it's time we brought the (Bonnyville) parade back.”
She added, “I don't think (it's too ambitious to say) we could do 50 floats. We'd encourage everyone to come out and get involved, whether you're a big business, small business, non-profit organization or just a regular family. This will be a parade for everyone.”
Speaking to the Nouvelle last week, Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski said he couldn't remember a time when Bonnyville held a regular Christmas parade but, when asked, he indicated the municipality would be more than happy to help bring the seasonal event back should there be a demand for it.
“Absolutely, if the community wanted to see a Christmas parade here in Bonnyville, then the Town would look into it,” Sobolewski said. “Unfortunately though there are costs involved and I think we'd want to make sure there were provisions or some kind of mechanism in place that could help establish whether the parade is a go or a no-go.”
He added, “Some of the nastiest weather we've seen in recent years has occurred during the time (this group) want to have the parade. We really would hate to go through the trouble of putting up barricades and having public works preparing the roads if it's so cold that people aren't going to turn up.”
Worthman though doesn't see that being a problem, pointing to the popularity of the parade in Cold Lake as evidence that people will come out if a parade is organized.
“This is our home. This is a community with thousands of people… It would be sad for us all to not have a parade we could call our own,” Worthman said.
The six-person committee will be addressing Town Council at their August 25 council meeting.
For more information on the committee and their bid to bring a Christmas parade to Bonnyville, you can check our their Facebook page by searching ‘Bonnyville Santa Claus Parade'. For other questions or to enquire about getting involved with the committee, you can contact the group at [email protected].
