You showed up by the thousands!
The Downtown Squamish Holiday Parade was amazing on Saturday night. So much love and excitement on display, with literally thousands coming out—despite the less-than-stellar weather forecast—to wave and cheer on the 47 floats in the procession this year.
With its gigantic axe, target, logs and trees on a flatbed, it is no surprise that the Squamish Days Loggers’ Sports Festival won best float.
The Squamish Chief had a float, too, and it was a blast to be a part of the festive event.
Kudos to all the youngsters in the parade—from dancers and figure skaters to hockey players and more—who not only walked the route with smiles but waited at the log sort for more than an hour, jumped through puddles and gave their leaders their full attention the entire time.
Great job!
How lucky were we all that the clouds parted and it was clear and not too cold for the parade? So amazing.
(The same thing happened with Remembrance Day, with the rain stopping just in time for the ceremony.)
Seeing smiling faces and small gloved hands wave as our van moved through the route was heartwarming.
Well done to all involved, from fellow businesses and organizations who also entered floats or groups to the procession, to the sponsors, and to, of course, the BIA, for organizing it.
BIA executive director Kerry Neil likely slayed her step count for the year with all the running around she did all night.
And a shout out to Santa and Mrs. Claus, who were the rightful stars of the show.
Every event can be a learning opportunity, including this one. The only thing that could improve was how close many kids, even very young ones, got to the vehicles. Some ran right out in front of our van.
The excitement is understandable, but it was stressful to navigate through.
To be fair, some participants were throwing candy from their floats, which is a bad idea, tempting littles to run out for sweets. But if parents could ensure their children stay far from the wheels on the floats, the event would be even more wholesome and enjoyable for all.
There will be more crowd control in place next year, according to Neil, but ultimately, the adults with their kids can make it easier on everyone by enforcing that no one steps onto the route.
Such a fantastic community love-fest could quickly turn tragic if an accident happened.
That said, the night's joy definitely outweighed the stress.
If you weren’t at this year’s parade, put it in your calendar for next year, and maybe even enter a float!
The Squamish Chief crew is already thinking of how we could make our float newsier next year.
See you then!
