Orillia holiday festivities continue with Santa Claus Parade

The streets of Downtown Orillia were packed Saturday evening for the City’s 119th annual Santa Claus parade.

Organized by City staff and the Orillia District Chamber of Commerce (ODCC) among others, the parade featured more than 100 floats, bands, community organizations, and of course, Santa Claus himself.

“We have some very dedicated staff at the Chamber of Commerce here in Orillia,” said Scott Walker, ODCC president. “It’s a few months worth of work to organize this and to get sponsors. It’s really a community event.”

The century-old tradition for the City has been a source of many holiday memories for community members and local dignitaries.

“I remember this parade when I was a kid, it was a wonderful time,” said Don McIsaac, mayor of Orillia. “It’s just exciting for us to see all the kids out enjoying it with families.”

“I watched this parade as a child. My daughters used to be part of the parade when they were growing up too,” added Jill Dunlop, MPP of Simcoe North. “It is really about the traditions and the celebrating and having the whole community come together and enjoy this festive season.”

Saturday’s parade took place nearly 24 hours after the City lit a new Christmas tree to replace ‘Fred,’ the infamous viral sensation.

The new 25-foot tree with around a thousand lights has yielded positive feed back thus far.

“Last year was a little bit rough around the edges so I’m glad that we’re not the laughing stock of late night television anymore,” said a local father of the new tree, while enjoying the parade with his daughter. “It’s beautiful. They did a nice job.”

“Last year was a different time. We couldn’t put all the lights on because ‘Fred’ was dying, so we did what we could to give ‘Fred’ a last hurrah,” recalled McIsaac. “But [the new tree] worked well. It’s a beautiful tree.”

By Mike Lang, CTVNews.ca Barrie Video Journalist