WINNIPEG — He’s the star of Winnipeg’s longest-running show, but jolly old Saint Nick isn’t sitting very pretty these days.
Santa’s sleigh has been anchoring the Winnipeg Santa Claus parade for 50 years.
Most Winnipeggers have watched it roll down Portage Avenue at least once in their lifetimes, and many make it an annual part of their Christmas tradition.
“I think the float is great,” said one mom. “It’s bright and fun.”
But decades of history, the outside elements and an attack by Grinchy vandals have caught up with Santa’s ride.
“Underneath that bling, it’s rotten boards and mouldy cardboard,” explained Danelle Hueging of Winnipeg’s Junior Chamber International.
Santa’s reindeer are missing antlers and one has even lost a leg.
“We cast (the reindeer) up once a year for the job then put it back out to pasture and hope no more damage happens.”
JCI Winnipeg has been maintaining and running the Santa float since they took it over from the Winnipeg firefighters in 1975.
The organization is competing for votes against other community groups to win $150,000 through the Aviva Community Fund to rebuild the old float or get Santa a brand new sleigh.
Getting the float is “something that just happens every year and people don’t know how it does, so we’re showing you and asking you to get involved to keep our city excited for the event,” Hueging said.
JCI had rallied hundreds of votes by the end of the fourth day of the contest, but will need thousands to win.
The first of three rounds of voting ends Oct. 14.
For more on the contest or to register your vote click here.
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