The weather was perfect. Chilly but not too cold. The sun was shining and the streets of downtown Milton were PACKED all along the parade route for the 2012 Santa Claus parade.
The parade began with a fly over of planes that never ceases to amaze me how they can fly in such perfect formation and so close to each other. The cheers of the kids and parents alike could be heard blocks away as the parade began. This year the Stuff a Bus was close to a pipe and drums band which helped in getting people excited. Yours truly of course was being the “Mouth of Milton” leading people in Merry Christmas cheers as members of the Milton Fire Department and other volunteers picked up food and toy donations for the Salvation Army.
I dont have an official total yet but the bus was stuffed a lot more than last year. This is just one of the reasons why Milton is a great community to live in. The generosity of the families that call Milton home continues to grow and this Christmas season is no different. We recently celebrated Thanksgiving and families and friends met to remind ourselves that we are indeed lucky to live where we do. Miltonians also realize that there are others who need a hand up one in awhile and the Salvation Army is a great organization with wonderful volunteers helping those in need this holiday season. I’m very proud to be part of it again this year.
There were some new floats and parts to the parade but there were also some great traditions continued as well. Mike Boughton, known as Mike the Barber and former councillor for Ward 2 continued HIS tradition of offering hot chocolate and coffee to people along Main Street. Knox Milton was also out in force with some warm beverages and smiles in front of our newly renovated church. The last two parades saw a fence surrounding the property as they were doing work on repairing the roof and this year no fence was to be found thankfully and we were open for business. I cant wait until St Paul’s United Church is finished their renovations as well so the fencing of Main Street can be over finally.
All I can say is that the numbers of people along the parade route continue to grow every year and my gut instinct is that this year was the best attended parade yet. After our bus made its way to the Salvation Army HQ on Nippissing, I walked back along the parade route to catch a glimpse of the big guy himself….Santa. I got a lot of feedback from people saying that this years parade was the best one yet…it moved along quickly, the floats were well done, people had lots of energy and it was a great kickoff to the Christmas season.
My congratulations go to the Santa Claus Parade committee for yet another job well done.
The following comment was posted on another thread from 2010 but it has pictures from this years parade and a link to them. Thanks to Kevin Vagg for posting this and take a look at his Facebook page for more Santa Claus Parade pictures.
Great post.
I had the chance to attend the parade, and I must say that everyone should be proud. I also had the chance to take some photo – they’re at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.493580600673945.112013.226012654097409&type=1.
Sorry for the long web address – unfortunately it’s what Facebook uses.
Hope you enjoy.
Cheers,
Kevin
Thank you to all Miltonians who took part in the parade, volunteered their time and efforts to making it a magical day in Milton and putting smiles on the faces of thousands of children (and parents too)
Looking forward to next year already.
Merry Christmas Milton!