Kitchener Santa Claus parade announces return to in-person event

Santa Claus is coming to town – in person The Lions Club of Kitchener says its Santa Claus Parade is returning to its original format this year. CTV’s Tegan Versolatto has more.

Santa Claus will be making his way back to town this year following two years of reverse parade events due to the pandemic. The Lions Club of Kitchener announced Wednesday that the parade will be making its return back to the streets of Kitchener and Waterloo in its original format.

“The 2022 parade will have a lot of festive floats, bands and entertainers – we can’t wait to see everyone,” Lions Club member, Jack Bishop, said in a media release.

This year’s parade is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19 and will begin at 10 a.m. The route will be along Weber Street, starting from Frederick Street in Kitchener to Erb Street in Waterloo.

The Knights of Columbus will be helping the Waterloo Fire Department collect toys for the Christmas Toy Drive along the parade route. Food donations for the Waterloo Region Food Bank will also be collected by volunteers.

Any children hoping to get their letters sent to Santa are encouraged to bring those, as the Canada Post elves will be collecting them.

Bishop added, “While we are grateful to everyone who is coming together to make this happen for our children, costs have risen significantly and we are worried we will not cover our expenses to break even this year. As such, our club is still accepting parade entrance registrations from non profits and corporations alike.”

More information about the Lions Club of Kitchener can be found here.