Santa Claus parade returns to the streets of Toronto this weekend

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, Torontonians will finally be able to see Santa Claus parading through the downtown core this year.

The 118th annual Original Santa Claus Parade returns to the streets of Toronto on Sunday, Nov. 20 following two years of broadcast-only events.

The parade starts at 12:30 p.m. and will be filled with a variety of floats, bands, marchers, and of course Mrs. Claus and jolly Old St. Nick.

This year’s parade will be hosted by Bell Media personalities Melissa Grelo, Kelsey McEwen, and Tyrone Edwards.

Musician and singer-songwriter John Legend will be performing in the parade, along with singer-songwriter Preston Pablo. The event will also feature a performance by the Ontario School of Ballet.

The parade route starts at Christie Pitts Park and travels east on Bloor Street West, before turning south on University Avenue. It will end at St. Lawrence Market.

The Holly Jolly Fun Run is also happening on Sunday. Starting just prior to the parade and following the same route, the run will finish at Maple Leaf Square.

The TTC is encouraging customers to take transit to the run and parade instead of driving through traffic this weekend.

The transit agency will be running additional service on Lines 1 and 2 to accommodate revelers.

“Several subway stations are conveniently located along or near the parade route, including Christie, Bathurst, Spadina, and St. George on Line 2, and Museum, Queen’s Park, St. Patrick, Osgoode, Queen and King stations on Line 1,” the TTC said in a news release on Wednesday.

The TTC says the 501 Queen, 504 King, 505 Dundas, 506 King, and 511 Bathurst streetcar routes will be maintained through breaks in the parade.

However, the following routes will be diverted during both the run and parade:

In addition, parking at many TTC subway stations is free on Sundays.

There are no planned subway closures this weekend.

If you’re unable to watch the parade in person, the event will be broadcasted in a Primetime Special on CTV on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

The Original Santa Claus Parade first launched in 1905 in Toronto. In 2020, the parade marked its first-ever broadcast production filmed at Canada’s Wonderland, to adhere with social distancing rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.