'This will really benefit the Northwest'; Thousands to attend Hyde Park Santa Claus Parade
Volunteers unload food collected during the 2022 Hyde Park Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 26, 2022 (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)
Thousands of Londoners lined Gainsborough road Saturday morning to see the man in red.
The second of the three big holiday parades in the city benefited from perfect weather as local community and service clubs made it one of the largest in the event’s history.
"We've got over 60 floats this year," says Matthew Koopman, of Gateway Church and part of the organizing committee.
Santa waves to the kids during the 2022 Hyde Park Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 26, 2022 (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)"We're so excited for this. We have lots of music, lots of fun, and lots of dancing."
Dignitaries also took part with local politicians including Josh Morgan who was attending this parade as a councillor for many years before becoming mayor.
"This is my home parade," says Morgan.
"This is just down the street from my house and that the Hyde Park parade is a great community parade. It has many organizations, service clubs and just regular members of the community, many that are in need. There's the (Northwest London) Resource Center (NLRC) and others who could always use support."
Volunteers pushed shopping carts along the route collecting non-perishable goods for the NLRC.
Volunteers unload food collected during the 2022 Hyde Park Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 26, 2022 (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)"It’s great to work with the Lions Club as well as the Hyde Park BIA to support the community," says Amani Radhaa, executive director at NLRC.
"Non- perishable items collected actually sustains our emergency food cupboard after six months. It's very much needed to support the Northwest Community and we're seeing the need continues to rise for families accessing their emergency food cupboard."
The event raises money for several organizations, and collects thousands of pounds of food.
"Last year we made over $20,000, and we also collected 6,000 pound of food last year, and we are hoping to surpass 10,000 pounds this year," says Koopman.
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