Airdrie Parade and Fireworks announced last weekend that handing out candy and other items at local Parades is no longer allowed.

In a post on their Facebook page on April 27th, the committee said that “Instances of children entering the street to collect candy have increased, prompting safety concerns due to the vehicles and horses that are traditionally a part of the event. Safety of parade attendees and participants is our number one priority.”

No more candy will be handed out at the Canada Day Parade

Aside from candy, other items including promotional material and products such as frisbees will be prohibited from 2018 onward.

The news has many in the city scratching their heads as that Facebook post received hundreds of comments from residents voicing concern and frustration, while others did agree with the move in order to prevent kids from running onto the parade route.

We walked the streets to hear what some in the city had to say about the decision.

“That’s wrong because the little kids are not going to show up and how can you promote Canada Day and make sure it’s generational,” said one resident, “We’re becoming too safety concerned about everything, that’s ridiculous. Keep the candy!” said another.

One person we spoke to said he agreed with the decision but not because of safety.

“I’m actually pretty OK with it just because it does turn into kind of a garbage situation. Not all the candy gets caught and the wrappers, kids aren’t always that responsible with immediately disposing of them, they just munch down the candy and they’re good to go.”

We reached out to the Parade Committee but haven’t had a response as of Tuesday morning.

 

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