PRESS RELEASE
RE: 2020 Trenton Santa Claus Parade
Quinte West, ON: After consultation with the City of Quinte West and our other partners, the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce has cancelled the Trenton Santa Claus Parade for this year.
“This was a very difficult decision to make as the Chamber has been organizing this event in our community since 1953,” states Suzanne Andrews, CEO at the Quinte West Chamber. “We always have such fantastic support from our local businesses through sponsorships and float entries and none of us wanted to disappoint the thousands of children that enjoy the parade every year.”
Most of the Chamber events for 2020 have been cancelled and careful consideration was given to the Santa Claus Parade with the hopes that the situation would improve and we would be able to move forward with the event. In early September we started to receive inquiries from past parade float participants about our plans for this year. The Chamber reached out to the City of Quinte West on how to proceed with the planning stages of the 2020 Parade to meet their guidelines. Together, we explored all options and the idea of a reverse parade was identified as a possible solution. We reached out to Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) for approval and were initially declined, as we could not guarantee less than 100 people would come down to the park.
Recently, they have reversed this decision but after looking at the logistics with our partners at the City of Quinte West it has been determined that the quality of the experience for young children would be missing. Controlling up to a 1000 cars driving through Centennial Park in a two-hour window and access for families without a car has made us continue to look for another way to connect with the kids this holiday season. On parade day, November 29 at 4pm we will share a special holiday video through Facebook live featuring Santa with special messages for the children of Quinte West and video of past parades.
“We fully support the Chamber’s decision to cancel the Trenton Santa Claus Parade this year,” says Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison. “We recognize this iconic event will be missed by many and we will do our best to provide alternative safe activities for the whole family this holiday season.”
Over the past 67 years, the Chamber has been fortunate enough to work alongside the City of Quinte West, Quinte West OPP, volunteer Station #1 Firefighters, the Trenton DBIA and the Quinte West business community to make this event happen. We work hard to create a memorable experience for local residents of all ages but especially the children. Letters for Santa that are usually collected at the parade can be dropped off at the special Santa mailboxes that are located outside of the main Canada Post office on Front Street in Trenton, and in the Canada Post offices in Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart. The Kinsmen Toy Drive is collecting brand new toys only that can be dropped off at the new Station 1 fire hall. Food donations can be made at the Trenton Care & Share Food Bank on Pelham Street.
For more details go to www.quintewestchamber.ca or call 613-392-7635
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