Creemore celebrates Christmas in the Valley
Santa Claus will be in town this weekend during Christmas in the Valley festivities.
The fun begins Friday night with the annual tree lighting, hosted by the Creemore and Area Ratepayers Association and the Tree Society of Creemore, at Station on the Green beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Children are encouraged to create their own hats for the crazy hat contest for a chance to win the honour of flipping the switch to light the tree. The best hat-makers will win prizes donated by Cardboard Castles. Free hotdogs and drinks will be served and there will be carol singing throughout the evening.
The Christmas Creemore Farmers’ Market runs Saturday morning from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Station on the Green. Twenty-five vendors will be selling their wares.
Also on Saturday morning, fuel up on pancakes and sausage at Breakfast with Santa at Nottawasaga Creemore Public School (NCPS) from 8:30 a.m. until noon. The popular kids-only shopping room will be open and themed treasure trays will be raffled. Children eat for $5 and adults eat for $7. A family of four can eat for $20 and a family of five eats for $25.
Santa will be at NCPS to visit with the children and have photos taken before being beckoned to the parade staging area.
The Creemore Santa Claus Parade begins at 1:30 p.m. It will feature the Collingwood Collegiate Institute marching band, the Beinn Gorm Highlanders and the NCPS band, local community groups, including the Cybergnomes, and local businesses.
The parade begins at the Simcoe County works yard and proceeds along County Road 9 east to Mill Street, south on Mill Street to Edward Street, East on Edward Street to Library Street, North on Library Street to the Log Cabin.
Roads will be closed to accommodate parade traffic.
The parade ends at the Creemore Log Cabin where hot chocolate will be served and children can visit with Santa.
This year’s route has been shortened but residents at Creedan Valley nursing home won’t miss the action because they will be able to watch a live stream of the parade.
To register a float, contact Laurie Wilson by email at laurie.wilson2@td.com or call 705-818-4339. Registration is free for non-profit organizations and all others are charged $20.
The Creemore branch of the Clearview Public Library is hosting a parade after-party from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. with special guest Sparky the Fire Dog. There will be free family activities and soup will be served.
St. Luke’s Community Crèche will also be on display as of Saturday at 22 Caroline St. W.
During the weekend, firefighters in Creemore will be collecting donations of non-perishable foods for their fill-a-wagon food drive. They will be at Foodland in Creemore from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. They will also be picking items up during the parade.
