Santa Claus has returned to Oakville!  On Saturday November 17, our boisterous OGC “One Sweet Celebration” float of little bakers and tumbling elves joined the community in welcoming Santa and celebrating 70 years of proud parade tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

Spearheaded once again by the direction of Kerry Spalding, Terry Lister and Brian Turgeon, OGC had a fantastic float of merry making athletes, armed with candy canes and overflowing with holiday cheer.  In the two short years since OGC has returned to the parade, the club has earned a solid reputation for outstanding spirit, winning the title of “Best Community Float” both in 2017, and again this year.  Talk about a comeback!

 

 

 

 

As the OGC float made its way along Lakeshore and Kerr streets, spectators along the way were heard reminiscing about last year’s float and the outstanding enthusiasm of the participants.  People were definitely looking forward to the spectacle of athletes tumbling along the route and our trademark, festive carols. And like last year, despite the chilly damp weather,(at least it wasn’t raining this time!) our elves definitely impressed with their array of handstand walking, cartwheels, arials and walkovers, while our bakers waved, greeted the onlookers and spread holiday cheer.

 

 

 

 

 

It takes a lot of people and a lot of hours to create such a successful float. The parade crew alone, (Kerry, Terry & Brian) spent over 150 hours collectively planning, coordinating and facilitating the project, and families earned 268 of their commitment hours assisting with parade preparations. 73 OGC families from across all four disciplines were involved. We had 30 walking athletes, 24 float athletes, 10 parent supervisors and many other families who made cash and time donations for building supplies, thank you gifts, the 2600 candy canes given out to spectators, the actual building of the gingerbread house and its 6′ cake, staging and tear down of the float, crafting gingerbread house candies and giant gingerbread men cookies and supplying items like Christmas trees, garlands and lights.  Thank you  to everyone involved!

The parade crew would also like to acknowledge and thank Charger Logistics Inc. for their participation again this year.  They generously take a very specialized low boy truck and trailer out of service for two days, just for us and provide an incredible driver, Syed Bukhari, who, with his young son, woke up at 3am on parade day to travel from Woodstock and drive for us. Thank you Charger, and thank you Syed!

 

 

 

 

 

A special thanks also to our DJ, Alex Kondrateyv! He professionally spins Christmas tunes so loud, our entire group is pumped and excited by 7:30am!

As you can tell, the Santa Claus Parade is a very involved event bringing our club and community together on many levels.  It is only possible with the cooperation and commitment of many.  As Kerry Spalding says, “It may take hundreds of hours and many hands to pull off a successful and fun team building event for the club, but the laughter and smiles of our athletes and families are truly priceless.”

And now that the parade is wrapped up and tucked away like another shimmery Christmas gift, the crew is definitely due for their long winter’s nap!  Until next year, OGC…

 

 

 

 

 

“OGC is who we are,

We compete both near and far.

Having fun is what we do,

And we hope

That you do too!

Merry Christmas,

To you!”