The 110th Annual Toronto Santa Claus Parade marches through town this Sunday PHOTO Wikicommons
By Kendra Hamilton
Santa Claus is coming to town and with him come road closures and chilly weather.
The 110th Annual Toronto Santa Claus Parade will be taking place on Sunday Nov.6 downtown.
Peter Beresford, Santa Claus Parade President, said at a media preview day that this year’s parade will be bigger than it has ever been. There will be with 31 floats up from 25 at last years parade, there are 12 new sponsors and for the first time they are partnering with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
“And we have a lot of bands, a lot of magic, a lot of excitement and a lot of pre-parade activities,” he said.
Beresford said they will also have cameras on top of two polls on Santa’s float that will take pictures every two seconds for six-and-a-half kilometers. The pictures can be found online three days after the parade.
“You can find yourselves and your children in the Santa Claus Parade,” he said. “It’s a really fun program that has been so popular in the past.”
The parade starts at 12:30 p.m. at Bloor Street West and Christie Street. It will travel eastbound along Bloor Street then turn south down Queen’s Park Crescent East and continue onto University Avenue. The parade will then head east on Wellington Street West continue onto Front Street East and finish at the St. Lawrence Market at Jarvis Street.
The Toronto Police listed in a press release the road closures that can be expected in association with the parade:
– Bloor Street West, from Ossington Avenue to Christie Street, at 8 a.m.
– Bloor Street West, from Christie Street to Bathurst Street, at 10 a.m.
– Bloor Street West, from Bathurst Street to Bay Street, at 10:45 a.m
– Avenue Road/Queen’s Park, from Davenport Road to College Street, at 10:45 a.m.
– University Avenue, from College Street to Dundas Street, at 11 a.m.
– University Avenue, from Dundas Street to Front Street, at 11:15 p.m.
– Wellington Street, from University Avenue to Jarvis Street, at 11:30 p.m.
– Front Street, from Bay Street to Jarvis Street, at 11:45 p.m.
Police also said that at 12 p.m., “Holly Jolly 5km Fun Run” will take place along the parade route and ask spectators to ensure that children and all personal belongings are off the roadway as of 11:50 a.m.
Temperatures on parade day will be hovering around zero degrees and there will be scattered flurries throughout the day.
Beresford said for those who can’t make to the parade it will air right across the country at 4:30 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.