Stoney Creek Santa Claus Parade cancelled due to COVID-19

Santa Claus won't be coming to town for Stoney Creek's annual parade in December.

Stoney Creek Santa Claus Parade Committee member Connie Behie said that given the uncertainties of a possible second wave of COVID-19, the volunteer group that organizes the event has decided to refocus its efforts on the 2021 parade.

The Santa Claus parade golf tournament in September has also been cancelled.

The parade, normally held on the first Saturday in December, traditionally attracts about 75 marching bands, floats and other groups on a route running along Gray Road and King Street. In an average year, up to 15,000 spectators take part in the festivities.

Behie noted the volunteer parade committee typically starts working on the event in January and parade bookings and volunteer commitments are usually firmed up in the summer and fall.

Behie added that most youth groups who take part in the parade aren't meeting right now. Many businesses which sponsor the parade remain closed for the pandemic and service clubs are reeling from the loss of event revenue, especially those impacted by the cancellation of the Winona Peach Festival.

Overall, said Behie, there are just too many uncertainties.

If someone could come out and guarantee that we would be fine the first week of December, we could be sure that the community feels comfortable enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder along King Street," said Behie.

Physical distancing on floats and in the marshalling area would be virtually impossible, Behie added.

Had the committee decided to forge ahead with the 2020 parade, it's likely it would have been dramatically scaled back. By cancelling the parade now, the organizing committee can avoid spending the limited funds it receives from fundraising, grants and sponsorships on an event that might not be allowed to proceed, Behie noted.

I think it's better to err on the side of caution," said Behie.

Upper Stoney Creek Coun. Brad Clark said the cancellation is unfortunate. But he called the committee's announcement a reasonable and prudent decision."

The challenges are, how do you have all those residents lined up along the road respecting physical distancing? Then, how do we encourage the parents to have their kids on these floats and in these parades, when they're nervous about their children getting COVID-19?" said Clark.

Overall, the likelihood of running a good parade this year is challenging, Clark noted.

With a parade that would be half-baked, with less floats and less people, but still a very costly event to run, it makes more sense ... to postpone it for a year than waste the money," he said. It's disappointing, but it is understandable."