Santa Claus parade will visit downtown Ottawa, Kanata and Orleans on Dec. 4

Santa Claus is shown in this undated file photo.

OTTAWA -

Santa Claus is coming to Ottawa next month, with stops planned in downtown Ottawa, Kanata and Orléans.

Organizers have announced plans to hold a Santa Claus parade on Saturday, Dec. 4, with the parade running along routes in three areas of the capital.

"It's going to be called the Help Santa Parade of Lights," said Bob Rainboth, chairman of Santa's Parade of Lights.

"It's going to start in the afternoon on Saturday, Dec. 4 and it's going to transition with starting in Kanata – a small parade in Kanata, followed by the exact same parade in downtown and then moving the same parade to Orleans. By doing so, we start with a day parade and it's going to transition into a night parade, and therefore it meets all the wonderful elements that we have with both our parades."

The Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association normally runs both the Help Santa Toy Parade and Santa's Parade of Lights in Orléans.

The Ontario government announced last month that capacity limits were lifted for organized, large-scale outdoor events, allowing Santa Claus parades to go ahead this holiday season.

Rainboth tells CTV News Ottawa organizers are finalizing permits with the city of Ottawa for the three parades.

"We're just finalizing the routes and distances and with a big aim on keeping people socially distanced so they can see and participate," said Rainboth.

The Help Santa Toy Parade will support the Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association toy drive, collecting toys and cash donations to support Toy Mountain.

"The community is contacting us every single day. They want us to be out in the community, we want to be there for the community, and the end result is we're able to raise toys for children," said Rainboth.

"We're there to do our part and we hope the public can come out and enjoy."

Donations in the form of new unwrapped toys will be accepted at all fire stations across Ottawa. 

The Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association has also set up an online donation page to accept financial donations to purchase toys. You can find the page at www.toyparade.ca.