A dispute over who should spearhead the annual Santa Claus parade is creating fears that the event won't happen at all this year.
This week, the Squamish Chamber of Commerce announced that it would no longer organize the event, which has been held annually for over a decade, and was passing on the torch to the downtown Business Improvement Association (BIA).
"We decided in January when we made our plan for the year that that would no longer be a focus of ours," said Chamber president Margo Dent. "We really took a look at what is really focused on our membership. [The parade] is really a downtown event, and we felt it belonged more appropriately with the downtown Business Improvement Association."
Dent said Chamber staff handed over parade-related documentation to the BIA executive director last week. But the news came as a shock to BIA president Greg Fischer, who said that with the short-notice and lack of manpower, the group doesn't have the means of taking on the event.
"I was shocked," said Fischer, who also owns Gelato Carina. "We can't take that lead, especially finding out now, it only leaves two months to do anything, and also the fact that we only have one employee, and she's part-time. Everybody has their own businesses to run and none of us can take that event and build up on that."
He said the BIA and downtown businesses already worked in conjunction with the parade by organizing a market in the park, ensuring expanded service for visitors, installing decorative lighting, and marketing it through Happening Holidays promotions.
"I don't know what else we can do."
There's now a real fear this year's parade won't happen, he said.
"There is a very strong possibility there will no Santa parade this year. And this would be the first time in I don't know how many years that there wouldn't be a Santa parade."
Dent said she didn't know the BIA would not be able to organize the parade, but added she believes it can still take place.
"I'm surprised that the BIA is not taking it on, that was not my understanding. Personally I think it would be really disappointing if there was nothing," she said. "If the BIA doesn't do it, I don't think it means there won't be a Santa Claus parade, I think it just means there's an opportunity for some other group to step up to the plate and take that on."
Dent said the Chamber decided the event was not "where our energies belong."
"I myself wasn't a big part of the whole thing, but I myself spent four hours on that day standing in the rain registering everybody for the parade. There were three staff members running downtown and Kim Ebers was spearheading the whole thing, so it was definitely many, many weeks."
The Chamber lives up to its mandated priorities by doing such things as bringing quality speakers to their monthly luncheons, sending out weekly newsletters and organizing 2010 Olympic preparedness workshops, said Dent.
"As much as it's great to serve the community as a whole, and we certainly welcome opportunities to do that, we have to make sure that our primary focus is serving our membership, because it is a membership-based organization."
But the Chamber would be "more than willing" to help by marketing the event via notices in their weekly newsletters, which go to 1,000 recipients, she said.
Fischer said the latest Chamber decision shows a pattern that has frustrated downtown businesses since the organization moved their office from the downtown to the Adventure Centre a few years ago.
"They used to do the Canada Day. They used to do Easter egg hunting. The Chamber used to take care of the Farmer's Market, and they quit doing that too.
"The Chamber is pulling out of the last event it was holding downtown."
