Holidays in Winnipeg

W E D N E S D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 8 Holidays in Winnipeg Holidays in Winnipeg 7 A new ride for Santa Claus Thanks to generous donors, the Santa Claus Parade was saved this year With less than two months to go, it looked like the 109th Santa Claus Parade might have reached its end after 108 years. After decades of delighting spectators young and old on parade day, Santa's sleigh was showing its age. Originally built from Eaton's billboards, the parade's grand finale float was suffering from disintegrating décor and burnt out reindeer lights that could no longer light the way. Finally, in 2018, the float was declared unsafe. Support for a new float was secured and the replacement float was under construction when a significant sponsorship fell through. With just weeks to go before the parade, the Santa Claus Parade put out a call: Could Winnipeggers come together to save Christmas? A GoFundMe was created to raise the $100,000 needed to save the Parade and the donations – and memories – started flowing in: "I have attended the parade since I was a little girl 53 years ago. We need to keep this family event going for years of memories!" "I remember sitting on my Papa's shoulders 40 years ago on Portage watching the parade." "We want our children to continue to experience the magic of the Santa Claus Parade like we did." "I believe in Santa and the holiday spirit!" But as winter was creeping closer, the parade was still in jeopardy. Then a call came from Winnipeg-based SkipTheDishes, Canada's leading and largest food delivery platform, with a generous donation of $40,000. "As the city's business community rallies together, Skip is all in. Santa and the parade organizers have done so much for so many in our community, and we're happy to help make sure Winnipeg's Santa Claus Parade tradition continues," said Chris Simair SkipTheDishes CEO and Co-Founder. The good news just kept rolling in. In the final and critical days of the fundraising campaign, James Richardson Ltd., Kinsmen, PAL Group, Pratt's Wholesale Food Service, Red River Co-Op, Sifton Foundation, Crosstown Civic Credit Union, New Flyer & MCI, Tri-Core Projects and Wawanesa gave generously. Social media shares and GoFundMe donations poured in, alongside a Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Winnipeg Jets alumni fundraiser at Save-on Foods. In the end, more than $160,000 was raised. "We are overwhelmed at how our community responded to the parade's request for help," said Winnipeg Santa Claus Parade Director, Monica Derksen. "It was so humbling to hear all the heartwarming comments about how important this event is to our city. The generosity we have experienced these last two weeks has made it very clear that the effort that is put into the parade every year by volunteers, board members, sponsors and float participants is worth it. On behalf of the board, we give our most heartfelt thanks to you, Winnipeg!" The funds raised beyond the $100,000 goal will be used for float maintenance and storage ensuring the longevity of this community asset for decades to come. The additional funds will also help to create a Winnipeg Santa Claus Parade Float Bursary Program for non-profit and community organizations. The Winnipeg Santa Claus Parade would like to thank each and every individual and organization who supported the float campaign, as well as our annual sponsors for their ongoing support. Together we will keep bringing the historic parade of lights and holiday magic year after year to Winnipeg's downtown, and we look forward to revealing the new float at this year's parade!

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