Lucknow celebrates annual Santa Claus parade

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

On Friday, the Lucknow Santa Claus Parade’s annual trip down Campbell Street may have been accompanied by the first truly frigid winds of winter, but it didn’t deter the sizable crowd who turned out to watch their friends and neighbours light up the night.

 

The Lucknow Lions took a quick break from improving their community to be a part of the parade, as did the volunteers of Kingsbridge, who brought along a nativity scene to remind everybody about the true meaning of Christmas. The Lucknow Agricultural Society contributed both of its newly crowned ambassadors to the procession, and the brave hoofers of Danceology defied the weather by dancing all the way to the end.

 

Service clubs and business owners really got creative with their decorations this year. The theme was superheroes, and it was embraced wholeheartedly by some of the paraders, much to the delight of the paradees. “Dirtbike Spiderman” in particular was a crowd favourite. And the caped crusading wasn’t limited to the human participants - horses of all shapes and sizes chose to don the cowl for the event, to great effect.

 

The tradition of the small town parade is an enduring one for a reason - it’s a short, slow-moving summary of all the things that make us feel lucky to live where we live. It’s a collective expression of joy, created by the people that you see every day, for the sole purpose of bringing a little bit of holiday spirit and civic pride to the community. And no matter how old you are, it’s always exciting to see Santa at the end.