With Halloween behind us, many are moving on to Christmas celebrations.
On Saturday, thousands gathered in Kanata for the annual Santa Claus Parade.
The parade started at 10 a.m. at Terry Fox and Castlefrank, before winding through Glen Cairn, and ending at Hazeldean Mall. After the parade ended, guests were invited inside the mall, to pose with Santa for holiday photos.
The parade is an annual tradition for Helen Vandenburg, who watched alongside family and friends.
“It’s local and you get to see a lot of the businesses, the girl guides, the scouts and a lot of stuff that goes through,” Vanderburg said.
Santa, the cast of Disney’s Frozen, musicians, bands, local businesses, sports teams and more were all part of the parade, as well as a number of local figures, including Ottawa’s Mayor, Jim Watson and CTV’s own Carol Anne Meehan.
Once again, the parade teamed up with the Kanata Food Cupboard, accepting donations for those in need.
“We have a lot of hungry families and it’s not just in Kanata, it’s everywhere, and we help out on average about 250 families a month in Kanata alone, anywhere from 250 to 300,” said Karen Waters from the Kanata Food Cupboard.
Waters had not yet counted the food donations, but estimated it at few thousand pounds.
“There’s a lot of people we know in our own neighbourhood who kind of struggle throughout the year, especially now with the prices at the grocery store so crazy, so we try to do our best,” said one woman who was donating.
The Kanata Santa Claus parade is one of many happening in the capital. The annual Ottawa Santa Toy Parade is scheduled November 21 at 11 a.m.
