Holiday cheer will be plentiful and children will be grinning ear to ear as Santa Claus rolls into downtown London Saturday.
The 61st annual Santa Claus Parade begins at 6pm and runs west along Dundas St. from Egerton St. to Ridout St.
This year's theme is 150 years of Christmas and features over 30 floats.
"It's going to go rain or shine. The weather is not looking the greatest Saturday but I'm told rain should let up by parade time," said Parade Chairman Shaun Merton. "From what I have seen on all of the float apps, this year's parade will be spectacular . There is going to be a lot of new stuff so it will be an awesome sight for everyone lined up along the route."
The parade, normally held on the second Saturday in November, was pushed back to the third Saturday this year so it wouldn't conflict with Remembrance Day celebrations. The move cost the parade a few of its traditional musical acts.
"We don't have any of the big $5,000 bands but we do have lots of local music that will add some new flavour to the parade. For the first time in eight years the parade will also include an up and coming drum line," said Merton.
People coming to the parade are asked to consider bringing non-perishable food items for the London Food Bank and new teddy bears for the Salvation Army toy drive. Last year, 7,200 lbs of food and 596 teddy bears were collected along the parade route.
This will be the first of three Santa Claus parades in London. The Hyde Park parade will be held at 10am on November 25, while the Argyle BIA parade is scheduled for 11am on December 9.
