Time running out to enter Sarnia Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade

Henry Korstange will know this week how many floats and other entries will be in the lineup for this year’s Sarnia Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade.

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Wednesday is the final day for online entries for the evening parade, which makes its way down Christina Street Dec. 2. Application information is at sarniakinsmen.ca.

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“I figure we have between 35 and 40 (entries), right now,” said Korstange, of the Sarnia Kinsmen Club, Monday.

It’s already close to the limit of entries for the parade, which aims to take one hour to pass by any given spot from begins Exmouth Street south through Sarnia’s downtown to Wellington Street, he said.

This year’s theme for businesses, community groups, schools, churches and others decorating floats and other entries is Christmas All Around Town.

The parade will see the return of the marching band from Memphis secondary school in neighboring Port Huron, Mich., Korstange said.

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Before COVID-19 restrictions limited birder crossings, the club traditionally hosted as many as four high school marching bands from Michigan. Memphis’s band is the first to join the parade since the pandemic.

“We’d love to get more of them,” but some schools remain “leery” even though border restrictions have lifted, he said.

Sarnia’s parade has been held in the evening for about 25 years, with floats decorated with lights, typically drawing thousands of spectators.

“Last year was fantastic,” Korstange said. “We had a really good turnout and I anticipated there’s going to be even a larger turnout this year.”

The 2022 parade was the first along the traditional Christina Street route after several years of “drive-thru” parades at Lambton College amid the pandemic.

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“It just seems there’s a lot of enthusiasm” this year, Korstange said. “I think it’s something Sarnia needs. . . especially with all that’s going on.”

Parade entries will assemble on the afternoon of Dec. 2 on Front Street, between Exmouth Street and London Road, then head south about 6 p.m. he said.

That’s a change from the last roughly 25 years, when entries lined up on Christina Street, north of the Highway 402 overpass. News Transportation Ministry safety rules mean “we can’t go over the overpass anymore,” Korstange said..

A float in the parade will collect non-perishable food and cash donations from the crowd along the route to support local food banks. The effort has brought in more than $15,000 and 2,720 kilograms of food over the last three tears.

Cash donations can also be mailed directly to the Sarnia Kinsmen Club, Attn: 2023 Santa Claus Parade, PO Box 861, Sarnia, Ont., N7T 7J9.

The service club and its sponsors cover the $15,000 to $20,000 cost of staging the annual parade, Korstange said.

Enbridge is returning as the parade’s presenting sponsor and any money raised beyond the event’s cost goes to support club community services and projects, he said.

Canada Post will have volunteers walking the parade route this year and collecting letters to Santa from the crowd, Korstange said.

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