While Santa Claus will still be visiting boys and girls around the world this Christmas, the St. Thomas parade in his honour has fallen victim to the coronavirus. Chris McConnell, president of the Optimist Club of St. Thomas says the decision was not easy and was not made in haste, adding it was unlikely the city would be issuing permits for similar events at this time.
The Optimist Club of St. Thomas has organized and hosted the annual parade for about three dozen years and McConnell says the club is looking at other ways to give the youngsters something in place of it.
McConnell notes the parade takes many volunteer hours to plan, prepare and run and the club hopes the community understands and supports this decision. He adds the safety of the community and the many volunteers involved in making the parade an annual success, is the Optimist Club’s first priority. He stresses the hope is the Optimist Club of St. Thomas Santa Claus parade will return next year on Saturday November 20th.
