Kenny Podmore strode down Douglas Street on Saturday night with a giant grin on his face to greet the tens of thousands who gathered in downtown Victoria for the 42nd Santa Claus Parade.
At the front of the parade, Podmore, longtime Sidney town crier, rang his bell and roared Christmas salutations to a crowd that was five or six people deep, lined along the 1.5-kilometre route.
A chorus of cheers greeted him wherever he went.
This year’s parade saw 85 entries participate, the most ever. Organizers estimated attendance at 60,000.
Asked about how he keeps his energy going during the parade, Podmore, who is 81, said he just “keeps fit in his normal life.”
The boisterous performance put on by Podmore set the tone for the rest of the night.
Hundreds of parade participants walked, drove, danced, and cycled along Government, Belleville and Douglas Streets to the sound of Christmas music and intermittently blaring truck horns.
A sprinkling of Grinches showed, most of them inflatable and strapped to various float surfaces.
Barb Wright, a driver with Hearing Life, a hearing-aid company, said her inflatable Grinch wasn’t explicitly part of the decor for the night. “He’s my buddy. All of December he’s in my car and my truck, I take him back and forth.”
The only costumed Grinch was with the float entry by Wolf in Winter, a dog-walking company in Central Saanich.
Company founder Curt Rayner said he decided to go all out with the Grinch theme, including temporarily renaming his antler-costumed border terrier Reginald to Max as a nod to the famous Christmas grouch’s fictional dog.
However, the Grinch that drew the most eyes was the larger-than-life animatronic Grinch that featured prominently as part of the Country Grocer float.
Country Grocer marketing manager Tammy Averill said the company’s Grinch, which usually resides in a Chemanus warehouse when not out and about, was recently refurbished and given new bushy eybrows by the sculptor David Gray.
“It’s such a fan favourite. Everyone takes pictures of our Grinch and we’re [constantly] asked if we’re going to have it on our float again,” she said.
Matt Rinas, who drove the world’s biggest sea-worthy bathtub from Nanaimo to Victoria on Saturday to participate in the parade for Mid-Island Towing, said it’s always fun to deck out the bathtub in Christmas decor when the holiday season arrives.
It’s a long day of driving from Nanaimo and back, but it’s all worth it to participate in the community cheer, he said.
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