Ottawa Valley Santa Claus parades return after three years
Santa Claus made his long awaited return to the Ottawa Valley, featuring in no less than three Christmas parades Saturday for the first time in three years.
The Cobden Santa Claus parade went Saturday afternoon, where Melanie Ly and her family, who moved to Cobden during the pandemic, got their first festive valley experience.
"We've been counting down the days for the parade so we are very excited," Ly said to CTV News.
"We've been able to do the farmer's market, which has been great, but other than that we haven't done very much. This will be our first big event out."
Renfrew County has been deprived of many large community events due to the pandemic, but the Santa Claus parades returned in full spirits for the first time since 2019.
"I think our main goal was to get the community back together after three years and people feeling comfortable and experiencing that Christmas parade again after a few years," said Andrea Runtz, who helped organize the Pembroke Santa Claus parade Saturday.
Despite the weather not setting the Christmas mood—with double-digit positive temperatures and sunshine—65 floats registered for Pembroke's retro-themed parade.
"I think old movies was definitely a big one," said Runtz.
"I know we have a float that's doing a National Lampoon's Christmas, old cartoon characters that were in childhood Christmas movies, so I think people are taking that theme and going back to their childhood Christmases and what was popular to them back when they were kids."
Santa's final stop in the Ottawa Valley Saturday was in Arnprior.
"You hear lots of comments about it on the street so I think everybody is ready for it," said Glenn Arthur, organizer of Arnprior's parade.
Fifty-five floats registered for the town's longest festive parade to date, which raised donations for the local food bank and paid tribute to former organizer Theresa Charron, who has since passed.
"A big pair of shoes to fill, without a doubt," said Arthur.
"Once the parade gets rolling, it will feel like Christmas is coming."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.