Santa made an early visit to Sparwood last week, touring most of the town atop a firetruck and spreading Christmas cheer.
Getting him to take the time for such a special visit was no mean feat though, said Sparwood Mayor David Wilks.
“Let me tell you - the toughest part of the entire parade that we did was negotiations with Santa at this time of year - really difficult, but we were able to secure him for two days. He really enjoyed himself, and I think the entire community enjoyed themselves,” he said.
“It’s very tough this time of year … he’s got to leave the elves unattended and he was a little concerned about that, but having said that, he did make an appearance and we were very grateful for that.
Santa, with the help of Sparwood Fire and Rescue, Sparwood Search and Rescue, BC Ambulance, the RCMP and local cycling enthusiasts - all adorned with bright Christmas lights - toured almost every street in Sparwood over two days, giving locals the opportunity to wave hello to the jolly man in red.
“I think people really appreciated a little uplift at this time of year since we’ve had such a challenging year,” said Wilks, who added that he was proud of the Sparwood community for how they’d taken 2020 in their stride.
“We’ve done everything that was asked of us by the Province and the Federal government - we’ve enacted every rule that needed to be enacted, everyone’s been very understanding of what we’ve had to go through.
“All in all, everyone is understanding this pandemic is serious and we need to follow the rules and they have, and we thought we needed to show something to the community that we, as the leadership of the community really appreciate what they’ve done.”
READ MORE: Elk Valley homes light up the holidays
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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