The 2023 Santa Claus Parade route has been revealed.
The annual parade will be held on Saturday, December 2 at 5:00 p.m., along Main Street. However, Airdrie Parades has now revealed a detailed map of how the parade route will look.
"The Alberta Health Services (AHS) Urgent Care Centre at 604 Main Street Southeast will remain open during this time. Road closure barricades will be manned by Emergency Responders to escort individuals to Airdrie’s Urgent Care Centre. If you have an emergency, please call 911," The city's website stated.
Apart from Santa Claus (and the possibility of Mrs. Claus making an appearance), the parade will also be offering a hot chocolate stand in front of Air 106.1 FM's building. According to Sam Morros, Chair of the Airdrie Parades committee, this year's parade appears to have more floats registered than last year - which may make it bigger and better than 2022.
Morros also cautioned residents to be vigilant against copycat social media pages that had previously been populating local social media feeds.
"We are trying to make sure that we don't have a situation where we have these fake accounts, either collecting money from people who think that they're paying to attend the event, or collecting money from businesses or community groups who think that they're signing up for the parade as a float entry."
Morros categorically stated that there have been no direct reports of this occurring, but said the Airdrie Parades wants to be cautious.
"We have one and only one official Facebook page and that is Airdrie Parades, as well as our official website. Those are the locations that I recommend going through to find your information. These events are 100 per cent free to attend; we will never charge you any money to join in as a spectator," Morros said. "For any group who is interested in putting a float in the parade, we only collect money through our official events page. We'll never ask you for cash or E-transfers or bank drafts."
Prior to the Santa Claus Parade, the festive season will kick off on Friday, December 1 with a series of holiday events, the highlight being the start of the Festival of Lights with FortisAlberta's Light Up The Night celebration at 5:30 p.m. at Nose Creek Park.
On Sunday, December 3, the 5th annual charity hockey game between Airdrie's firefighters and local RCMP will take place at the Ron Ebbesen Arena. Puck drop is at 2:00 p.m. running until 4:15. Entry is by donation to the Airdrie 1st Club Christmas Hamper program. Those who cannot attend the game can still donate. Donation boxes (red - naturally) are now set up in three fire halls across the city, with another blue donation box at the Airdrie RCMP detachment.
Following a packed first weekend in December, on, Friday, December 8, The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC - formerly known as Canadian Pacific) holiday train is coming to Airdrie and the surrounding areas this holiday season.
According to the 2023 schedule, the holiday train will stop in Airdrie on Friday, December 8. The arrival time is 5:15 p.m., while the event will start at 5:45 p.m. and will run till 6 p.m. It will stop at Nose Creek Park (1641 Main Street) and this year's performers are the Canadian Band, Anyway Gang.
Last year, the holiday train re-started the much beloved North American tour after several years of being on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the Holiday Train program launched in 1999, it's raised $22.4 million and collected 5.15 million pounds of food. Other stops in Alberta include Olds, Didsbury, Calgary, as well as Okotoks.
On Saturday, December 9 an old-fashioned skating party will be hosted by Nose Creek Valley Museum.
"The Victorian Society of Alberta will be joining with Christmas Carols of days gone by. Bring the family from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m., along with your skates, or visit the Skate Shack onsite for free rentals," The Airdrie Festival of Lights Society stated on the website.
The following week, on Friday, December 15, The Festival of Lights will be hosting Emergency Services Night.
The events will also be accompanied by various holiday markets in Airdrie and the surrounding areas.
Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com. You can also message and follow us on Twitter: @AIR1061FM
In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, DiscoverAirdrie encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverAirdrie app. You can scan the QR code to download it.
Thu, May 2, 9:30 AM
Full-time, Permanent, Administrative