By: Helana Mulder, senior reporter
Photo from Instagram: @redeemeruc
Christmas music was played, candy was handed out, and fun was had. It was an evening full of joy and community.
On Saturday, November 17, Hamilton’s annual Santa Claus Parade was held downtown. It started at the corner of Bay St. North and Barton St. West, and finished down on the corner of James St. North and Barton St. East.
This was the first year that Redeemer was part of the event—and it was a success. Thirteen first-years made it out to the parade and were able to hand out Redeemer stickers and candy to the people that gathered.
There were also two banners that the students held: one saying “Redeemer University College” on it, and the other one saying “Joy to the World,” as a way of bringing some Christmas spirit to the onlookers.
Mikaela Van Pelt, an organizer for Redeemer’s part in the parade, said, “We were really excited to participate this year, as it is the first time that Redeemer has been in the Hamilton Santa Claus Parade. We hoped to do this as a way to participate in the downtown Hamilton community, to get more people in the community to know who we are, and also to bring some Christmas joy to the people who were watching and participating in the parade this year.”
Joe Siebenga, one of the first years who participated in the parade, said, “It was awesome to see the kids’ faces light up when they received candy from us. It was also awesome when we gave out toques to kids that didn’t have them; they were super cute.”
Van Pelt says that they hope to have even more Redeemer students come out next year to be part of this community event and to spread some Christmas cheer.