Hamilton’s Santa Claus Parade has been cancelled for 2020

This one hurts. Hamilton’s Santa Claus Parade, an enduring and endearing local tradition to ring in the holiday season each year, has been proactively cancelled due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

This cancellation marks the first ever in the 45-year history of the parade, which is typically held in late November and takes over large stretches of Hamilton’s downtown core. This year’s cancelled event was scheduled for November 14th, 2020, and the festivals organizers have said they’re now focusing on making the 2021 Santa Claus Parade an extra special return to form.

Here are some live updates from Hamilton’s media briefing on COVID-19:

Mayor Fred Eisenberger (@FredEisenberger) said the 2020 Santa Claus parade is cancelled.

"Even Santa Claus has been affected by this pandemic," he said. #HamOnt

— Bobby Hristova (@bobbyhristova) July 7, 2020

The news sucks, but it’s not surprising; large gatherings are still a major safety concern and stand to be so for a while still. Having thousands of Hamiltonians gather on the streets to enjoy the Santa Claus Parade together would just be too risky.

“It is with a heavy heart that we will not be able to extend an invitation to Santa and Mrs. Claus to join us in putting smiles on the faces of the young and young at heart,” reads a statement on the Hamilton Santa Claus Parade website.

In its cancellation, the Santa Claus Parade joins other large local events that made the tough decision to pull the plug this year, including Supercrawl, Collective Arts Fest, and the Festival of Friends.

Lead image courtesy of Hamilton Santa Claus Parade

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• Cancellation
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• downtown Hamilton
• event
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• Health
• holidays
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• Public Health
• Santa Claus
• Santa Claus Parade