Santa Claus is Coming To Town
The Santa Claus Parade has been spreading joy for over 100 years, and has been made possible through the help of thousands of volunteers and sponsors since the first parade in 1905. The Parade brings people together, regardless of their background, celebrating hope, family and love. It’s part of the fabric of our community.
Every year we bring hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Toronto, and millions more watching at home, together to celebrate this joyous season. We’ve been doing so uninterrupted for 119 years, and that’s exactly what we will be doing again this year, bringing Santa’s magic to town.
Thank you, George. You will forever be in our thoughts.
On November 24th, 2023, the Santa Claus Parade lost a dear friend. We send our deepest condolences to family and friends of George Cohon, and thank him for his boundless enthusiasm and support.
Click Here to read the full message from our Board Chair, David McCarthy.
So much work goes into producing such an awesome event. Check out what we’re up to behind the scenes.
Our Board Members
David McCarthy
Chairperson & Secretary
Board member since 2016. Personal chauffeur for CEO Elf on parade day!
Partner, Stikeman Elliott LLP, with specialties in corporate and North Pole law
Governor, Golf Canada / Royal Canadian Golf Association. Highlights include acting as Official Starter at Men’s Canadian Open.
Mike Bartlett
Director
Rino D'Onofrio
Chair, Finance
Current Board member and Celebrity Clown since 2014
Senior Vice President, RBC Insurance
Past Chair, Board of Governors, Junior Achievement of Central Ontario
Volunteer, Habitat for Humanity
Jeff Weiss
Chair, Communications
Board member since 2013, Celebrity Clown and Volunteer since 2011
President of Harbinger, a marketing communications agency specializing in brands targeting women
Former marketing executive with Sprint Canada, Danone, Gillette and Pepsi-Cola Canada
Chris Tambakis
Chair, Celebrity Clowns
CEO, North America of Adgar investments & Development Inc., an owner of office properties with holdings in Canada, Israel and Europe
Celebrity Clown since 2004 and Board Member since 2015
Passionate Community Volunteer with organizations including The Heart & Stroke Foundation, Ivey Business School and The Ontario Science Centre
Dianne Schwalm
Director
Volunteer Board Member for over 20 years
VP of Partnership/Development New Franchise Media Inc
Former Sr. VP of Marketing for Warner Bros Canada
Cindy Day
Vice-Chair of Board
Board member since 2018
HR Business Partner at TD
Leader in multiple HR disciplines including Talent Acquisition, Sourcing Strategies, Employee Relations and Transformational Change Management
Ryan Timms
Director
President of McCann Canada and 20 year veteran of the Canadian advertising business
Has helped clients across pretty much every industry achieve their marketing goals across pretty much every form of marketing
Board member of the Institute of Communications Agencies
Gasper Galati
Director
Current Board Member. Celebrity Clown and volunteer since 2016.
Partner at the law firm of Daoust Vukovich LLP, which specializes in commercial leasing, commercial real estate and commercial litigation.
Over 15 years experience as a commercial litigator assisting various clients across the country.
Nicole Avery
Chair
Vice President, Brand and Marketing Communications – ecobee
Senior Marketing executive at several beloved Canadian and Global brands including Mastercard, Scotiabank, Bell and Tim Hortons.
20+ years of volunteer work and board member experience at Campfire Circle (formerly Camp Oochigeas), Vividata and Action against Hunger Canada
Kimberlee Welch
Chair
Duncan Fraser
Director
Stuart Pollock
Director
A career Entertainment Specialist, Stuart began his career at Viacom working in marketing at Canada’s number-one theatre chain: Famous Players. There, he worked with entertainment and packaged goods companies developing marketing programs. After Viacom, Stuart was recruited by Microsoft to lead strategic partnerships for the launch of Xbox.
In the twenty years that Stuart has been at Segal Licensing, he has developed breakthrough licensing programs on properties such as Dr. Seuss, Marvel, Tony Hawk, Kevin Smith, and Shrek.
Founders
Ron Barbaro
Founded the Parade Organization in 1982 with George Cohon
Served as a Member of the Board and Co-Chairman from 1982 to 2014
Founded the Celebrity Clowns in 1983
Retired from the Board of Directors in 2014
George Cohon
Honourary Chairman
Founded the Parade Organization in 1982 with Ron Barbaro
Served as a Member of the Board and Co-Chairman from 1982 to 2014
Retired from the Board of Directors in 2014
Honorary President
Peter Beresford
Honorary President
Volunteer Chairman, CEO and Board Member since 1983
Chairman of Funding Innovation Inc, an art/easel program across Canada that raises millions of dollars for Charity
Former Global Executive with McDonalds Corp. for 31 years. Former Chairman and CEO for McDonalds UK and Executive Vice President for McDonalds Canada and Japan
Honorary Directors
Ray Biggart
Served as an original Member of the Board from 1982 to 2013
Served as Secretary of the Board from 1982 to 2010
Retired from active duty on the Board in 2013 and was named Honourary Director
Eric Conroy
Served as a Director of the Organization for 28 years from 1984 to 2012
Served as Executive Vice President and Director of Sales and Sponsorship from 2008 to 2012
Retired from active duty on the Board in 2012 and was named Honourary Director
Jeffrey Griffiths
Served as a Director of the Parade for 30 years from 1987 to 2017
Served as Vice President Administration and Finance during that period
Retired from active duty on the Board in 2017 and was named Honorary Director
Alfred Iannarelli
Started with the Parade as a summer student in 1970
Has been the General Manager/Creative Director overseeing designs since 1983
Volunteer Chair of Seneca College’s Visual Merchandising Advisory Board for 15 years
Emeritus
Peter Labbett
Peter Labbett was a Founding Board Member and helped create the Not-for-Profit Organization called the Original Santa Claus Parade
He served as a Director for 24 years, until he passed away in 2006
He loved seeing the diverse crowd of people who came to watch the Parade and in particular, the smile on the faces of all the children in the crowd
Ross Morton
Celebrity Clown for 22 years and Board Member 3 years
Advisor, mentor, forensic expert and re-assurer to the life insurance industry
Farm boy from Harriston, Ontario
Scott Sutherland
Scott Sutherland was a serial entrepreneur and investor who graduated with a degree in Business & Urban Development finance at the University of Western Ontario
Scott was a proud Celebrity Clown and Santa Claus Parade Board Member for 2 years
Staff
Clay Charters
President & CEO
Committed to leading and growing teams that deliver unique experiences that exceed the expectations of clients, partners, volunteers and attendees
Over 20 years of experience in the marketing, partnership and event management fields
Becky Conroy
Director of Business Development
Passionate kids content creator and sales professional with over 20 years of experience.
Santa Claus Parade Board member from 2010-2018.
Parade History
We were back on the streets after 2 years. It was so nice to see so many smiles and children full of joy as Santa made his way through the streets of Toronto again!
2020 marked a historic year that had the team working on all cylinders to put on the very first made-for-tv production of the parade to adhere to social distancing rules. The production was filmed at Canada's Wonderland and featured musical performances by Kelly Clarkson, Brett Eldredge, Meghan Trainor, Shaggy, Aviva Mongillo, Toronto Smyphony Orchestra, and Dolly Parton! Over 25 floats lit up under the spectacular lights of Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland. The Parade saw record viewership and was available via streaming services days after to keep holidays bright. It was a year to remember as we worked hard to put smiles on everyone's faces through a very difficult time.
Today, there are more than 25 animated floats with themes ranging from Harry Potter to Hockey Night in Canada. More than 200 Celebrity Clowns lead the Parade and raise about $200,000 annually, while around 2,000 costumed participants march happily through Toronto’s streets. Toronto police asked Parade organizers to extend the route by one mile in order to spread out the crowds of spectators. Toronto’s Santa Claus Parade is the longest running children’s Parade in the world, broadcast across North America, as far away as New Zealand, Norway and Ireland.
Between 1989 and 1991, the Santa Claus Parade formed an alliance with Russia (the Soviet Union) just as the Soviet era was coming to a close. In 1989, two Soviet broadcasters, Herman Solomatin and Tetyana Vedenyeva provided on-the-spot coverage of the Parade, which was broadcast to 250 million viewers in the Soviet Union via the Gosteleradio Network. Based on this interest, Russia was invited to participate in the Parade in 1991.
The lights around Queen’s Park Circle were lit early for the Parade for the first time in 1985. Now there is an annual tree lighting ceremony in downtown Toronto during the days leading up to the Santa Claus Parade.
Eaton’s announced it was withdrawing from sponsorship of the Parade after 77 years. Within three days, Ron Barbaro and George Cohon formed a not-for-profit Organization and became Co-Chairmen and Founders. Together, they signed 20 Companies to sponsor floats in the first year. The tradition of the Celebrity Clowns began in 1983, when more than 60 Executives paid $ 1,000 each to hand out balloons, march and entertain kids along the Parade route.
1980 marked the 75th anniversary of the Parade and 1,700 volunteers participated in the ‘Parade Salute’, a special theme to mark the year. The Parade featured floats for Canada’s major regions, including the Prairies, the Yukon, the West and East coasts. Punkinhead lead a float carrying children from 24 countries to honour the International Year of the Child.
More than 30 million people across North America watched the Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade on television. In 1976, there were 33 small and large floats in the Parade, with room for more than 200 children on the floats and 500 marchers. The route was lengthened to 7.5 miles to allow for larger crowds.
There were 13 large floats in the 1957 Parade and nearly 20 smaller floats with two horse-drawn carriages. Two thousand people marched in the Parade that year, with the majority from Metropolitan Toronto Secondary Schools led by 30 teacher Parade marshals. The Parade was six miles long and began at 8:30AM – after two solid hours of makeup and dressing
By 1950, the Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade was the largest in North America and was first televised on CBC in 1952. For years after that, the Parade was filmed and packaged for schools with professional narration by such well-known broadcasters as Byng Whitteker and Don Harron.
In 1948 Eaton’s published a children’s book called Punkinhead, the Sad Little Bear. It was about a teddy bear who wanted to be in the Santa Claus Parade. Eaton’s published several books of Punkinhead’s adventures, as well as colouring books, records and television commercials. He was so well-known that children cheered him when he marched in the Parade.
During World War II when materials were scarce, most of the Parade costumes were made of paper. A big draw during this period was for children to watch the Parade from office buildings along the route. All the windows facing South were crowded with children, including the Park Plaza Hotel (today’s Park Hyatt).
This was the year Santa arrived by air. He touched down on the Aerodrome on Eglinton Avenue, seven years before Lindbergh arrived in Paris. He was to be pulled by horses with outriders dressed as lions. However, the horses balked at the costumes worn by the outriders and were subsequently banned from the Parade.
To escape from the realities of the Great Depression, families pressed their ears to the radio. Starting in the early 1930s, CFRB radio began broadcasting a month of dramatic programming that followed Santa’s journey from the North Pole to Toronto. By the time the Parade took place, children and adults alike were beyond excitement. Santa brought with him a magic and mystery that gave everyone hope.
This was the year Santa arrived by air. He touched down on the Aerodrome on Eglinton Avenue, seven years before Lindbergh arrived in Paris. He was to be pulled by horses with outriders dressed as lions. However, the horses balked at the costumes worn by the outriders and were subsequently banned from the Parade.
By this time, the Parade had seven floats starring nursery rhyme characters. The biggest float that year was a giant swan carrying a band of musicians and clowns, with Santa in the centre of it all. Mother Goose also became a Parade tradition, taking newer more elaborate forms each year.
Eaton’s arranged for Santa to be pulled by live reindeer, which had been imported from Labrador specifically for the Parade. The reindeer had a dedicated veterinarian who looked after them and supplied their special diet of moss. Following the Parade, the reindeer retired to the property of an Eaton’s Executive outside Toronto. That year, children along the route started to march through the city along with Santa, stopping to dance and sing as they went. They dropped letters to Santa into baskets on poles carried by bearers. Every letter with an address received a personal response from Santa.
The first Santa Claus Parade was held on December 2, 1905 and was sponsored by Eaton’s department store. In this premiere Parade - one float picked up Santa from Union Station and delivered him to the downtown Toronto Eaton’s store.
2023 Santa Claus Parade Sponsors
The parade wouldn’t be possible without the support of our amazing Partners & Sponsors.
SPONSORS
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
MEDIA PARTNERS
MARKETING / PUBLICITY PARTNERS
AUTOMOTIVE PARTNER