Santa Claus will be coming to town with the 23rd Parade des Jouets
Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
cassandra@qctonline.com
Christmas is fast approaching, and it’s already almost time for the 23rd annual Parade des Jouets (Toy Parade). In the spirit of Christmas, anyone can bring letters to Santa and new or gently used toys to the parade on Saturday, Nov. 9, starting at 2:30 p.m. The parade will kick off in Charlesbourg and continue to ExpoCité.
With help from Les Ateliers Balthazar, Santa Claus thought of a new theme for this year’s parade. He asked all the inhab- itants of the North Pole – elves, snowmen, animals and mythical creatures – to complete the 12 Labours of Christmas. With their help, Santa Claus will show children that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Spectators along the parade route will marvel at the 15 decorated floats and the 325 costumed performers.
Children can bring their letters to Santa Claus; Canada Post employees will collect them and deliver them to the North Pole in time for Christmas. Santa Claus will, of course, reply.
Starting at 52e Rue in Charlesbourg and making its way down 1ère Avenue to ExpoCité, the parade will be a magical mobile bubble. Children and families can donate good-quality new or used toys to make the holidays more festive for families in need. (Stuffed toys are not accepted this year.) “We will give some of the toys collected to six organizations helping 1,000 children,” said Marie-Anne Comtois of the Joujouthèque Basse-Ville. “Since last year, we have divided the toys into categories. For example, we group all the puzzles, Lego, board games and dolls. It makes the work of the organizations much easier.” The Joujouthèque toy library, with its 545 subscribers and about 900 monthly rentals, will draw on this collection to renew its toy bank.
To help fund the free annual parade, parents can purchase 50/50 tickets for the Christmas Stocking Draw. Tickets are available online (paradedesjouets.ca) and will be sold during the parade until 5 p.m.
The parade route ends at Place Jean-Béliveau, where temporary bleachers have been installed. For $21.14, people can purchase VIP tickets online (paradedesjouets.ca or lepointdevente.com) giving them access to 90 more minutes of entertainment and gifts from Chocolats Favoris. “With the pandemic, we had to reinvent ourselves. The happening at the end of the parade is extraordinary. It’s full of people, it’s moving, and even if the weather isn’t nice, everyone has fun – and for it to work, we need and are thankful for our financial partners and 425 volunteers,” said Pierre Dolbec, chair of the parade’s board of directors.