Maple Ridge’s Santa Claus parade will be back, after a two-year absence.
The parade will be the highlight of the Dec. 3 Christmas Festival downtown. Organizer Trish Coft said this event has drawn 10,000 to 12,000 people in Decembers past, and she is expecting a huge crowd as families return to a signature community event.
“We are anticipating the numbers will be bigger this year, because there is such an appetitite for people to get back out to community events again,” she said.
Coft is the president of the Maple Ridge Christmas Festival Society – a group she says loves the holiday season.
Returning after a two-year absence caused by COVID-19, the festival will feature Christmas in the Park, in Memorial Peace Park, with a number of family attractions from 4-8 p.m. There will be Glow Christmas light displays, a Christmas market, a DJ in the bandstand, photos with Santa, food trucks and more.
There will be drop-offs of gifts for the Christmas Hamper Society, and donations for the Friends in Need Food Bank.
Children are invited to write letters to Santa, and they can be posted in a mailbox in the park that night.
The parade starts at 6 p.m., running until approximately 7:30 p.m., and the highlight will be Santa riding in the Maple Ridge Fire Department’s antique fire truck.
“It injects a lot of life into the downtown core,” said Coft of the festival.
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The parade will be following a slightly different route this year, due to downtown development. It will start at The Ridge Church at the corner of 22nd Street and Lougheed, come down McIntosh Avenue, do a loop around the park, and then exit the downtown south on 224th Street.
A map of the best viewing locations will soon be published on the city website, said Coft.
The festival society is working with the city Parks and Rec department, the Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association, the ACT Theatre and Glow Maple Ridge.
The festival needs both sponsors and volunteers.
Coft explained the event has a budget of $17,000, which is covered by grants, fundraisers and sponsors.
Volunteers will be needed for crowd control, and to generally ensure the public watches the parade safely.
Interested sponsors and volunteers can contact mrchristmasfestivalsociety@gmail.com.
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