Source: Submitted by the Brandon Santa Claus Committee - November 24, 2024
Thousands Line Downtown Streets to Enjoy The Santa Parade
The 2024 edition of Brandon’s Santa Claus Parade was a major success as a record number of floats and slightly above normal seasonal temps drew large crowds to the downtown parade route. People of all ages, including families and groups of friends, gathered at various vantage points along Princess and Rosser Avenue to see all the floats and get a glimpse of Santa and Mrs. Claus riding in their sleigh pulled by reindeer led by Rudolph.
“We knew we had some big shoes to fill with the monumental task of organizing everything and having it run smoothly but we couldn’t have asked for a better result in our first year,” said Gladden Smith chair of the Traditional Christmas Dinner committee decided to take the reins with the Santa Claus Parade. The former group ran the parade for 24 years before stepping aside. “Continuing the tradition of this parade seemed like a good move for our group and we all jumped at the opportunity," said Smith.
The payoff from all the hours of preparation the new group put in was how people reacted. “Seeing those downtown streets packed full of people smiling, waving, cheering, and saying Merry Christmas to us it's just an amazing feeling and it makes it all worthwhile. I'm very pleased by the efforts of our team and we're already looking forward to next year's parade," Smith said.
The Brandon Santa Parade committee recently grew in size adding a few new members and garnering a sponsor for Santa's sleigh. "With Ashleigh Hamm chairing the Santa Parade Committee along with her business Creative Marketing, it definitely added to the huge success of the Parade. Sunrise Credit Union being our major Sponsor will be a big help in us getting started on some much-needed work on Santa’s float," Smith said.
This year’s Santa Parade drew a record number of floats (64), and crowds formed along the parade route were estimated to total between 3000 and 4000 people! It doesn’t happen too often, but the number of floats registered for this year’s Santa Parade in Brandon exceeded the number of floats Winnipeg’s parade drew (51).
Brandon Santa Claus Parade committee and volunteers. (Photos submitted)
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