Sussex Santa Claus parade pushed back over rain concerns

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Sussex’s Santa Claus Parade is set to be one of the largest in memory, but it’ll have to wait a week due to weather concerns.

The parade along Leonard Drive and Main Street was scheduled for Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m., but staff met Friday morning and decided to delay it to the rain date of Dec. 9, according to Sussex CAO Scott Hatcher. Hatcher said they had seen indications of 10-15 millimetres of rain letting up by 5:30 p.m.

“If you were preparing a float outside tomorrow afternoon or a participant sitting on a wet float driving around town, that would be a brutal experience,” he said. “The weather forecast long-range looks more like snowflakes next Saturday, which would give it the Christmas atmosphere.”

Community services officer Roberta Craft said Tuesday that 68 floats were registered, compared to a usual number around 50.

“This is one of the biggest parades the town has had,” said Craft, who said she’s been managing parades in Sussex for 20 years.

She said the cancellation of the Santa Claus parade in Saint John, which was set for Nov. 18, has driven up registrations for parades around the region, but the numbers also reflect growth in the Sussex area.

“Looking at the registrations, it does seem that there are a lot of newer businesses that have opened,” she said. “It’s interesting to see that, that there’s definitely been growth in the last couple years.”

Craft said the extra floats are “a good problem to have” and the important part is to keep communication with CN to keep the rail crossing open, as well as fire and ambulance services. “It’s a good problem to have,” she said.

Works staff have been putting up lights around town, and Craft said the joy is in seeing “everything come together.” She called the parade her “busiest day to work in the year.”

“For me, it’s my busiest day to work. Nobody’s in a bad mood, everyone’s just full of cheer and happy and wants to have a great parade,” she said. “I’ve been doing parades for 20 years, and I hope I do it for another 20.”

On Monday, Sussex council approved the parade route, which starts on Perry Street at 6:30 p.m., onto Leonard Drive and then down Main Street, ending at the Wal-Mart parking lot. Council also gave approval for ATVs to use the main road and for the town works department to enter a float with a truck, which was described by Coun. Paul Maguire as a “team-building” exercise.

Mayor Marc Thorne said after doing it last year, they’d be once again inviting a newcomer family suggested by the Multicultural Association of Sussex to join the judging of floats in the parade from the steps of town hall. He called it a “wonderful” time last year and said it would be doing a “small part” for community inclusion.

The Sussex Christmas season opened up Friday with the Mayor’s Tree Lighting, with Coun. Doug Bobbitt doing the honours, three musical acts performing and about 100 people in attendance.

Sussex is also running a Christmas lights contest, with applications opening Nov. 14. Using the Driftscape app, houses with decorations will be listed to create a community tour, with community voting to win a Sobeys gift card. Craft said it’s the second time the contest has run after taking it on from the Communities in Bloom committee, and that while numbers of participants last year were on the lower side, there was a lot of voting.

“In Sussex, we take a lot of time and pride with Christmas lights,” she said. More information is available at https://sussex.ca/events/2023-christmas-lights-contest/.

The Downtown Business Association is also hosting Old Tyme Christmas on Dec. 7 from 5 to 9 p.m., including horse-drawn carriage rides, and the Sussex and Area Seniors Centre is running a Christmas craft fair at 50 Perry St. Dec. 1 from 1 to 8 p.m. and Dec. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I’m always proud of the community this time of year,” Thorne said, mentioning a wide range of events. “They’re all doing their best to bring some joy in this season.”

Hampton welcoming Santa to Town Square

In Hampton, parks staff have been setting up the Santa’s Village display in Town Square in preparation for Jolly Old Saint Nick’s arrival Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m., according to Chris White, director of economic development and tourism for the Town of Hampton.

“We’re very excited to welcome Santa and to extend the welcome, we’ve added a whole series of events for the day so families can come out and celebrate,” White said.

The Winter Wonderland event Dec. 2, with an inclement weather date of Dec. 3, includes children’s winter activities and a gift wrapping station from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Visitor Information Centre and pavilion, with a Christmas selfie station to be entered for a prize and a raffle for a gingerbread model of the old train station. The curling club is open from 3-7 p.m. for curling and cocoa and the Hampton Food Basket is accepting donations, White said. Free horse-drawn wagon rides will be running from 3 to 7 p.m., but all the spots were snapped up the day they became available Monday, White said.

“We’re really looking forward to all the activities of the day and bringing joy to the community,” said White.

A post on the Hampton Facebook page Friday afternoon notes the possibility of a drizzle and warns visitors to dress accordingly.

White said the idea of running events in Town Square was something that came out of seeking alternatives to a Santa Claus Parade during the pandemic and it’s become a “hugely anticipated” event.

“We’ve been growing this activity, and it began during COVID,” she said. “We were looking for another way that people could safely get together, and the community as a whole really responded to this model.”

She added that the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Shop the Town event, including a bingo card to mark off at local shops for a prize, starts the same evening from 6 to 8 p.m. and runs through Dec. 9.

“This is a way to take leisure, spend time with family and friends in the Town Square … and really kickstarting the season,” White said.