Thousands lined the Santa Claus parade route Saturday evening for a chance to greet the man of the hour and welcome him to Barrie.
The 2019 Santa Claus parade seemed to be a success as more than 50 floats wound through the route and ended up in front of Meridian Place on Dunlop Street. Families were huddled together with blankets and hot beverages starting at 4 p.m. at the bottom of Owen Street in order to get a good spot for both the parade and the tree lighting afterwards.
Melanie Casehall and her family were downtown by 3:30 p.m. and said it wasn’t too cold and the day was enjoyable.
“Its actually not that bad out, but everybody has their own thermos filled with hot chocolate and the kids have been running around keeping warm,” said Casehall. “They’re all excited to see Santa Claus and I’m stoked knowing they’ll sleep like logs later.”
The parade’s theme of Christmas in the Movies had floats pay homage to the Grinch, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the Polar Express and even one with a giant bag of popcorn on it.
Just after 6:30 p.m., Santa flipped the switch at the Meridian Place stage to light the decorations at Heritage Park, the 35-foot Christmas tree that overlooks Simcoe Street and the sky with a fireworks display.
Meridian Place now has fireplaces surrounded by Muskoka chairs for people to gather and keep warm and there will be a tree lot for those looking for the perfect tree for their home.
