Rules & Regulations

The City of Pickering in partnership with The Kinsmen & Kinette Club of Pickering (the "Club") would like to thank you for your interest in participating in the Santa Claus Parade. The annual Santa Claus Parade seeks to provide an annual celebration of the Holiday Season that is both entertaining and safe for all participants and spectators. Community groups, schools, sports groups, businesses and volunteer organizations are invited to submit applications to enter floats or performance groups to participate in the Parade. All parade participants must sign this Application Agreement.

Outlined below are the regulations pertaining to the Parade. Please read carefully as the rules have changed with the City has become involved in a much larger capacity to ensure that you are able to abide by ALL regulations before you complete and return your application and fee (if applicable).

Theme: All floats/vehicles MUST be decorated in a holiday theme. Please note there is only ONE Santa Claus, and he comes at the end of the Parade and is provided by the City. At the discretion of the Parade Marshall, floats/vehicles that are not decorated appropriately may be removed from the parade with no refund of the application fee (if applicable).

1. Acceptance is not guaranteed for either the grant or parade participation. 
2. The City has the right to establish the Parade theme, determine the number of entries, select and reject participants at its sole discretion, and refuse entry on the day of the parade if the agreed upon design is not executed.
3. Parade applications close on October 4, 2023 and all successful applicants will be notified via email by October 11, 2023. Note: there is a limit of 60 spots available and applications will be approved on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply early. Only successful applicants will be contacted.
4. Parade participants cannot surpass the maximum of two (2) vehicles per entry. NOTE: a truck pulling a trailer constitutes ONE vehicle. Emergency vehicles ONLY are exempt. More than two vehicles require a second entry.
   

   a. Accurate measurements are also required – no estimates.

   Length is to be calculated from the front bumper of the “pulling” vehicle to the rear bumper of your float. Your overall length measurement must include the vehicle pulling your float – entrants often forget to include this important part of their entry. If your entry is wider than a standard tractor trailer width, please advise us accordingly on your application.

   If your entry is longer, wider or higher than the measurements you have supplied, you may not be permitted to enter the parade due to space restrictions and safety concerns.

5. Parade participation (floats, costumes, etc.) cannot be solely for advertising purposes. Floats and parade participants must be decorated in holiday fashion
   a. At least 80% of the accompanying vehicle (i.e. the truck to pull the trailer) must be decorated in accordance in a similar holiday fashion.
   b. Vehicles that are not an integral part of carrying out a group's Parade participation may not accompany the group along the parade route.
6. Parade participants must:
   a. Represent themselves with some form of signage (either carried at the head of the group or mounted on the front of the unit).
   b. Conduct themselves in an orderly fashion – marchers, if any, are required to walk behind the head of the unit, not in front.
7. Parade participants are prohibited from:
   a. Selling or offering for sale any commodity, service, food, or drink on the day of the parade.
   b. Canvassing or asking for donations.
   c. Distributing handouts, literature, or other items along the parade route is NOT allowed. (As of 2023, candy handouts are NOT allowed and will be managed solely volunteers for the City).
8. For safety reasons:
   a. No decorations or skirting should be too low to the ground.
   b. No parade participants can move between their float unit and the ground or to another float unit during the parade.
   c. If a Parade participant that slows or impedes the progress of the procession, they may be directed to withdraw from the Parade.
9. Horse drawn vehicles are NOT permitted in the parade.

10. The official Parade Santa Claus is the ONLY Santa Claus allowed in the parade. No entry may depict Mrs. Claus as well.

11. Failure to abide by this agreement may result in the removal from the parade formation and/or not being accepted for participation in future parades. At its sole discretion, the City may remove any entry that does not abide by the rules set out in this agreement.