Saturday November 25, 2023 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
With one month to go until Christmas, the 41st annual Santa Claus Parade was hosted by the local CHEK-TV news outlet. Main sponsor Peninsual Co-op. | Livestream link | December Event Calendar
This year the live broadcast featured the lit-up BC Legislative Buildings in the background. The hosts Stacey Ross and Paul Haysom are seated in front of the Fairmont Empress Hotel at the Inner Harbour.
CHEK emcees are wearing green and white ‘Santa’ hats, which they verbally noted. Normally Santa hats are red with white. Maybe a nod to climate attentiveness?
About 75 floats in the parade. The weather is dry under a clear-sky nearly full moon, and not overly cold … about 8°C at the 5:20 pm parade start.
About 70,000 people have come to attend the parade, lined up about 10-people deep.
This event feels like the ‘official’ start of Christmas for the Greater Victoria area.
West shore focus:
This year the City of Langford has included one of their trolleys in the parade; the trolley runs on bio-diesel; Mayor Scott Goodmanson and council were on the trolley.
The City of Colwood has a lit-up truck in the parade.
Brookes Westshore private school also had a float.
The lit-up truck parade is coming up this year on December 2, which runs from downtown Victoria up to the west shore.
