WATCH: Kickoff the holiday season in Victoria with the 36th Island Farms Santa’s Light Parade Presented by Agropur. Ceilidh Millar reports.
As Islanders get into the festive spirit, the Christmas season will officially begin in the Capital City on Saturday with the 36th Island Farms Santa’s Light Parade.
“Our parade is the first official parade on the Island this year,” explained organizer Kelly Kurta from the Greater Victoria Festival Society.
Government Street will come alive with the magic of Christmas complete with lights, music, dancing and festive floats.
“Santa is going to officially kickoff and open Christmas in Victoria with the Mayor at the Christmas tree light-up in Centennial Square after the parade,” Kurta explained.
There are 75 entries in this year’s parade and more than 65,000 people are expected to attend the event.
Mike Black from Capital Iron says this is the first year they’ve entered a float into the parade.
“It’s a ton of fun,” said owner Mike Black. “It’s a great way to start the Christmas season early.”
“We’re putting the finishing touches on our rear Canada flag,” said staff member Jerod MacDonald. “One of the sub-themes of the parade was Canada 150 so we wanted to do something around that.”
Afterward the parade, visitors are encouraged to join Santa in Centennial Square for free treats and a special Christmas tree light-up.
Volunteers from the Mustard Seed Food Bank will be on hand to collect donations of warm clothing, cash and non-perishable food items.
The parade starts at Government and Belleville streets at 5 p.m. and travels along Government to Herald Street.
Stacy Ross, Jeff King and Ceilidh Millar will host the TV broadcast of the parade on CHEK News.
A live stream of the parade will also be available online on the CHEK News Facebook page.
Ceilidh Millar
