Bolton Kin bring joy to Caledon with 50th annual Santa Claus Parade

December 7, 2023 · 0 Comments

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Caledon residents had a merry time last weekend at the 50th annual Bolton Santa Claus Parade.

The parade is held each year by the Bolton Kin, a non-profit group that serves the community in many different ways. Each year, the Kin arrange for bands and floats, secure sponsorships, plan road closures and more to make the annual Santa Claus parade a success.

At 11 a.m. on December 2, the parade started at Highway 50 and Queensgate Boulevard and traveled North on Highway 50 until it reached Centennial Drive.

There were marching bands, dance troupes, local sports teams, service clubs, businesses and more among parade entrants.

Bolton Kin life member and past president Joe Luschak said this year’s parade marked a big milestone.

“We were thrilled… it was one of the best parades we’ve ever had,” said Luschak. “We were pleased with the way it went.”

He was quick to credit “our ‘do everything’ guy” John Stegeman, the Bolton Kin’s parade chairman, for all his hard work organizing the parade. At the time of this article’s writing, Stegeman was taking some much-needed time off.

This year, there were 63 entries in the parade compared to 57 in 2022. Luschak said it’s nice to see the parade moving in the right direction: getting bigger each year.

The parade was an hour and 52 minutes long from the time the first float started moving until the last float finished at Centennial Drive.

Luschak said putting on the parade is a massive undertaking and it couldn’t be done without the many sponsors and volunteers who help out with it.

Those interested in learning more about the Bolton Kin or becoming a volunteer for next year’s parade can visit www.boltonkin.com.