Council looking for greater town involvement in Christmas parade

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

A request for increased involvement, effective support and promotion of the Christmas parade had town council spitballing on Oct. 7, eager to expand the magnitude and impact of the procession.
Councillor Bob Sobol brought the request forward during the regular council meeting, that had all council members in favour.
Along with sending letters out to the business community to encourage participation either through a float or sponsorship, council agreed to donate $2,000 to the 2015 Christmas parade.
“Since I’ve been on council we’ve had an annual Christmas parade,” said Sobol. “It’s an event that I think is looked forward to by a lot of our residents. I guess I simply would like the town to get a little bit more involved in assisting the organizers who work hard at trying to get this organized. What I’m trying to do is get some attention and some interest in the Christmas parade.”
Sobol recalled a substandard turnout last year, after the date was postponed for a couple weeks, causing a number of participants to be unavailable to participate.
In order to provide incentive, councillors talked about donating funds for prizes.
“I like the idea, anything we can do to bring another event to the town,” said Councillor Pat Fule said during the meeting. “On the weekend you have the Light Up the Night, and I think it’s a great idea. I’d like to see some sort of money come forward for prizes too.”
Councillor Denise Peterson also brought forward an idea a resident had mentioned, where instead of candy being handed out by councillors – as is practice with the Strathmore Stampede parade – councillors collect food donations for the food bank from residents, in exchange for a numbered ticket. The ticket number will then be included in a draw for prizes. The idea was met with enthusiasm among other council members.
Letters destined for Strathmore businesses were expected to be sent out shortly after last week’s council meeting. Council also encouraged local businesses to donate prizes.