Santa debuts brand-new sleigh

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This article was published 18/11/2018 (2697 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Santa Claus flew through downtown, waving at the jubilant faces watching his flight, perhaps he didn’t even need to check his list twice. This year, more than ever, Santa would know that Winnipeggers have been very, very nice.

The 109th annual Santa Claus Parade lit up Portage Avenue on Saturday night, drenching the street in festive music and lights. Floats rolled from Sherbrook towards Portage and Main, delighting thousands cheering along the way.

It’s a tradition that, only months ago, organizers worried might not happen. But after a groundswell of support from Winnipeggers helped save the parade with a critical fundraising campaign, the parade was able to continue, now a little bit brighter.

That made watching this year’s event especially emotional for parade director Monica Derksen.

“It’s sort of overwhelming,” Derksen said. “To have that up-and-down journey that we went through this year, not knowing if it was going to happen, and then everybody pulling together… Now here it is, right in front of us.”

The weather outside was frightful, dropping to -11 C with a bitter wind. But that didn’t stop an estimated 60,000 people from flocking downtown to watch the lights and take in the activities, including a Santa’s Workshop at Portage Place.

“We’re Winnipeggers, we always come out,” Derksen said, with a laugh, and pointed to the folks milling about in the Manitoba Hydro Place atrium as the parade started. “There’s just more people inside until the last minute this year.”

Some families, seeking a warmer vantage point, lined the skywalks and pressed their noses to the glass. Thousands more bundled up to stake out spots along the eastbound lanes of Portage Avenue, where the parade’s 77 floats rolled past.

Those who did brave the cold were treated to an eye-popping panoply of floats and cavorting characters, including a couple of scheming Grinches. The Manitoba Metis Federation even threw a vivacious live fiddle party on a flatbed.

But the long-awaited showstopper came last. For the first time in most Winnipeggers’ living memory, the parade unveiled a brand-new Santa Claus float, featuring a newly sculpted team of reindeer leading a redesigned sleigh.

It had long been known that the iconic old float, which was built on a base of vintage Eatons store billboards, was crumbling. For years, volunteers patched it up with fresh paint and repairs, but time and weather was taking a toll.

Nobody knew exactly how old it was — some billboards dated back to the 1930s — only that it was in rough shape.

This summer, organizers announced that the 2018 parade was in jeopardy. The Santa float had been declared unfit to use and a key sponsorship had fallen through, leaving the parade rushing to raise $100,000 to build the new one.

Winnipeggers opened their pockets. But by late September, the fundraiser was still $65,000 short of its goal.

At the time, landscaping agency J&D Penner — which has built several other parade floats — had already started working on the new float. As parade organizers turned to the public to narrow the funding gap, that work went on.

“Even when we sort of looked like we were in crisis, they were like, ‘we’re going to keep building, we know it’s going to happen,’” Derksen said. “They really wanted to do it.”

After organizers made a renewed plea for support, Winnipeggers stepped up to answer the call. Within days, the fundraiser had surged past its $100,000 goal. In total, the parade raised a whopping $161,401 towards the fund.

The extra will be set aside for float maintenance and storage, as well as to fund bursaries for non-profit groups.

On Saturday night, Winnipeggers got to see the fruit of their contributions. The final result is a float 52 feet long — about 10 feet longer than the previous float — and tricked out with thousands of lights, even a heated Santa seat.

Shortly before the sleigh’s maiden voyage, its four-person construction team eagerly put the final touches in place.

“It evolved into something bigger and better than what we originally planned,” said Dick Penner, as he oversaw the last preparations on Portage Ave. “It’s awesome to be part of it. I could never have imagined we’d build one like this.”

To see the float make its first introduction to Winnipeg was a meaningful experience for many organizers, who had worked so hard to bring it to life. The first Santa float lasted decades; they hope this one too stands the test of time.

“It’s a project that’s going to outlast a lot of us,” Derksen said. “It has a legacy feel to it. It’s something we’ve brought to the community that’s going to be appreciated for generations. It’s a super good feeling to know we’ve done this.”

The final result was a hit with Saturday’s crowd. Every year, Gord and Maegan May bring their two daughters, five-year-old Kaeli and three-year-old Ember, to the parade. The girls’ favourite float is — what else? — Santa’s sleigh.

As they waited for the new float near Portage and Main, Maegan applauded the parade’s new lease on life.

“That’s fantastic,” she said. “We look forward to it every year. It would have been sad to see it gone.”

Its public debut went off without a hitch. After Santa flew past, offering his jaunty call of “ho, ho, ho,” families quickly scattered to find shelter from the cold. The sleigh continued on to The Forks, where Santa would greet young fans.

With that, the 109th Santa Claus parade made its final goodbye: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

“I just want to send a huge thank you to Winnipeg,” Derksen said. “They came out, and propped us up.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca