LAST YEAR'S PARADE

Santa Gets Ready for New Route

In a secret location in a parkland zoned for industrial whimsy, the floats for Toronto's Santa Claus Parade are almost ready. Sure, there's a pair of legs missing a torso and a fox that needs some pants, but by next Sunday, as the world's largest Christmas parade winds its way through Toronto's streets, every limb will be in place.

At a sneak peak of the floats on Thursday, Santa Claus told a group of his costumed contemporaries the parade route was changing to follow Dundas Street instead of Queen Street. It's only changed five or six times in 105 years," he said with a chortle, as a group of children watched him with reverence and a little girl patted his stomach. "We wanted to take full advantage of Dundas Square," said Alf Iannarelli, the parade's director, adding that a free breakfast will again be offered at Dundas Square to 5,000 parade-goers, from 9 to 11a.m.

Along with Mother Goose, penguins and clowns, revelers will also be treated to the sight of three gigantic Barbies for a new Mattel float. The sparkly models, carved from foam, bear an uncanny resemblance to Barbie herself. One, however, is still bald. "All the kids keep pointing that out," said Samantha Twiss, a costume developer. "We have the wig; we just haven't been able to climb up there and put it on."

Fred Kay has sculpted figures for 100 floats in 26 years. Kay used to get attached to the floats and hated to see one of his treasures was destroyed. "They keep most of them now, to reuse them," he said, pointing to a Tim Hortons float. The chipmunks and raccoons playing hockey on it were whittled down from snowmen Kay created a few years ago. Some figures wait in the rafters, without bodies, for their renaissance - like the clown with curly yellow hair, and the main characters from The Wizard of Oz. "That clown is 20 years old," Kay said. "We didn't have the heart to destroy it. The Warner Brothers heads, they didn't want them destroyed, but didn't want them back, so we're just storing them."

Source: The Toronto Star - Friday, November 6, 2009

A Driver, A Marshal, A Pint-Sized Fire Chief

They keep it in the family. Gayle Pollack drives a float, Derek Olson is a parade marshal and their son, Tyler, will act as a fire chief on the Lego float. Yessiree, one medium-sized, happy family - your average Santa Claus Parade partners in crime. What "crimes," you ask? Let's just see.

Most people can't stand driving under 50 km/h. What compels someone to drive at a crawl on purpose?

Gayle: You want to go that slow so you can see all the faces in the crowd, otherwise you're going to miss them all. If you're going any faster, you'll miss the smiling kids in the crowd.

Is there any reason we can't speed the floats up a bit faster this year?

Gayle: You can't speed it up! You've got small kids... how fast can those kids walk?

Are the three of you like the Santa Claus Parade family of crime?

Gayle: (laughs) Absolutely.

What crimes are we talking about?

Gayle: Well, we know where Santa's secret warehouse is.

What's the most bizarre thing you've seen on parade?

Gayle: One year, I couldn't see out my float at all. I had to keep in communication by cellphone with the person in front of me to guide me around corners and that.

How is it marshalling children?

Derek: It is a challenge at times because you are on top of them constantly to get in line. We have fun and all that, but: "Stay in line!"

What special authority does a parade marshall have over your average parade participant?

Derek: None. In fact, we're expected to be a behind-the-scenes person. The safety aspect s number one.

Source: The Toronto Star - Friday, November 13, 2009