Christmas lights twinkle on Central Avenue. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Holiday Cheer

Lights up in P.A. downtown as Santa takes a break

Nov 27, 2020 | 11:16 AM

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Prince Albert’s downtown. The installation of holiday lights is now complete and although the Santa Claus parade has been cancelled this year, there’s still plenty of Christmas cheer to be found along Central Avenue.

The parade, which is organized annually by the Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District (PADBID), didn’t meet the Saskatchewan Health Authority COVID-19 guidelines, PADBID executive director Carolyn Carleton told paNOW. Although it’s not possible to welcome Father Christmas and the large crowds he draws to the downtown this year, Carleton said she’ll post a recorded version of a past year’s parade on the organization’s Facebook page Saturday morning – the date the parade would have been held.

“If you want to relive it, you can watch it then,” she said.

For those who want to spend some in-person time with Santa in a physically distanced setting, he’ll still be available at the Gateway Mall starting Saturday at noon. The set has specially designed to abide by COVID-19 guidelines.

Of course aside from family fun, the Santa Claus parade draws people into the downtown and increases traffic to businesses in the area.

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However, Carlton said although businesses will likely be affected to some extent by the cancellation of the parade, many stores have already been quite busy.

She attributes the increase in shoppers in the downtown to two main factors. First, people are eager to shop locally this year. Second, many people are wary of visiting busy big box stores amid the pandemic.

“Downtown, you’re not going to be in a crowded store,” she said, adding some shops have started offering ‘book your bubble’ shopping times when the entire store can be reserved for a group.

“When you’re a small local store it’s easier to clean and keep track of everything,” she added.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom