Last year's Santa Claus parade saw a good number of people turnout. (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Santa Claus parade

Downtown businesses ready for Santa Claus parade

Nov 29, 2019 | 10:00 AM

The downtown is ready for the annual Santa Claus parade.

The parade is set to get underway this Saturday at 11 a.m. The event, which is organized by the Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District (PADBID), has around 30 floats registered.

Carolyn Carleton, executive director of PADBID said events like this are important in bringing people together.

“It’s good for the community to come together and be a part of our historic downtown,” she said.

Carleton stressed the businesses in the downtown are locally owned and when people support them, the money stays local.

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Right now is a good time for the area, according to Carleton as the coming of the new University of Saskatchewan campus has many people excited. Carleton added there are many new businesses opening up, with some working to be up by the weekend.

Despite the growth in the area, Carleton said this year’s parade is similar in size to last year and there are no plans to make it any bigger.

“It seems to be a good length to keep families entertained for a bit,” she said.

Fred Matheson, owner of Ted Matheson Men’s Wear, said right now is an exciting time for the area. He added the Santa Claus parade along with the summer street fair are really appreciated as they bring large groups of people to the area.

“Even if I don’t get people in my store, they at least see, they may look in the window so the next time they need clothing, they’ll come and see me,” he said.

Matheson said there are many people with negative perceptions about the area. He added having big events which bring people around can help to change that.

“When we have the street fair, people always say, ‘It is it ever nice down here?’ We got things happening and same things with the Santa Claus parade,” he said.

Jyl Toews, owns Kate Jacobs Baby Boutique, which just opened the doors of its downtown location last weekend. She said events like the parade help to build a real sense of community, which she values.

“It’s just such a community feel down here. That’s part of why I chose the downtown to open,” she said.

Toews said with the businesses in the downtown being independently owned they are in a unique position to be able to support each other. She said this makes the area different from other areas of the city.

“Everybody supports everybody else, sharing pages, liking pages,” she said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn