The annual Santa Clause parade has now become a much sought after event in Canada, kick-starting the Christmas celebrations all over the country. This parade has been enjoyed by millions of Canadians for over a century. It all started in 1905 when Santa Clause arrived on foot waving to everyone at the Timothy Eaton Department store as a publicity gimmick. This evolved in to a much more lavish display each year by adding little elves and then by 1910 a full carriage pulled by 8 reindeers would come by and elves followed by carol singers and since then on the parade sponsored by more and more shops and stores has grown bigger in size adding floats of fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters, bands and other popular children’s’ favorites. Today it is a not-for-profit organization that takes in all the funding from large organizations to run the world’s largest Santa Clause parade. Thousands of people travel here for their Christmas holidays by getting cheap flights to Toronto with their families to see this amazing one-of-a-kind parade.
The Toronto Santa Clause Parade is one of the biggest parade productions in North America and the most enduring. This year the parade will boast over 25 elaborate floats, over 100 celebrity clown and around 25 bands for their thousands of tiny spectators. The children and families are the main audiences so you may find floats of popular children favourites as Barbie floats, Princess floats and other fuzzy and cuddly creatures. This year the parade will be held on Sunday, 20th November 2011 at 12:30 pm.
The route will be a little different from usual this year and start from Bloor and Christie to past the ROM and Avenue, around Queen’s Park and then continuing past University and East on Wellington and then finally ending in front of Front & Jarvis which is right by Lawrence Market. The entire parade will last about 90 minutes and the best viewing spots will be along the route. But you have to hurry to be able to get a good view as people tend to start coming in and setting up chairs and blankets about as early as 9 am. Also, note that the spots at the start of the parade fill up the fastest because it is easier to leave from there while at the end you will have to wait longer for the floats to reach you.
Also, note that at this time of year its best to use public transport such as trains and subways as roads will be closed due to the parade and with thousands of pedestrians and spectators he conditions on the road will be dismal. |Staying at a hotel on the Route is also a good idea as you can get a better and hassle-free view from your balcony and a handy washroom too if you have small children with you. Big hotels like the Hilton even come directly in route and are offering great deals for accommodation like breakfast deals and gift certificates for their balcony rooms. For transport, we recommend the GO Train which is often free and will take you directly to the parade route if you are staying far away. So get your Christmas spirit flowing and visit the Toronto Santa Clause Parade this year and give your family a treat.
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