Cobourg is the former capital of Ontario and is a city of about 30,000 if you add the surrounding area into the numbers. So by that count Cobourg’s population is about 1/100ths that of Toronto … so I was not expecting the 8 bands, 20 floats and impressive size of Cobourg’S Parade – almost as big as of the Toronto Santa Parade. However, to my delight, Cobourg’s citizens delivered a Santa Parade of great proportions and sheer fun on a brisk but sunny November Sunday.
It started with the large number of families and especially kids dressed up for Santa fun with hats, mitts, and scarves of various seasonal color and styling. The tykes above were typical of the kids [and yes, their parents] that line up on King Street around 2:00PM for the start of the parade. The families kept themselves busy with candy and goodies raids on the nearby local stores – my favorite was the Cupcakes bakeshop on King Street West.
But in common with their Toronto counterparts, Cobourgians came equipped with blankets, small chairs, and even over-turned cans to await the coming parade. Many also brought a late lunch, cookies and other goodies to munch on while waiting for the parade. But as noted they did not have long to wait. Chatting and visiting was the other order of the day. But at last the parade started and soon eyes were bright with all the floats and promise of upcoming Christmas cheer.
what really surprised me was the number of kids on and about many of the floats. It appears that to be in the Santa Parade is as big a deal as being a Parade watcher. And as you shall see below there were a lot of Candy capers going on.
As can be seen there were a lot of surprises. A red boughed pulling a wagon, real reindeer, and a man on an old fashion brakeless, big wheel bike among other things.
For the elder folks, the Parade provided not just the chance to chat around, but also the fun of seeing a whole array of classic cars and trucks. Of course the Shriners had the visual pun of the two headed-car:
Again as you can see immediately below there were a number of classic old cars and trucks on parade – Cobourg is no stranger to classy vehicles.
But what really impressed this viewer was the number and sound of the bands and several Scottish Pipe and Drum corps. One could hear in the distance bands already playing, drummers drumming, and the parade festivities in the distance well beyond Division Street [Cobourg's equivalent of Yonge for dividing the city in half]. There were more than eight bands [too many to count on my fingers]. And their sounds were as varied as the Ulster Accordion Band, the Crossly High Band from Niagara on the Lake and the Toronto Signal Corps troupers could produce.
And just before Santa, came the Cobourg band in its impressive white pith hats and red tunics. They looked as good as they sounded and marched. And of course they announced the arrival of Santa himself who, of course, got the biggest cheers from the crowd around.
Now what could be finer than a great weekend Christmas parade ? Well weather as nice as for this one.
The Toronto Santa Claus parade is over 100 years old and a good part of the appeal of the parade is that people have fun every mid-November Santa weekend. And the fun is not just for the kids and viewers – the parade participants have a lot of fun too as these picture attest to. They are taken at Christie and Bloor streets where the parade originates – starting off at 12:30 for downtown Toronto , ending around 4:00 at Front and Jarvis – about 3 1/2 miles down the way. It is an energetic walk for the hundreds of marchers and 20 plus marching bands.
Note to readers – click on any picture to go directly to a gallery with more, similar Parade Pictures.
The first thing I saw as I emerged at the Christie subway station on Santa Parade Sunday morning was a float with Parade people constantly going to and from it. Hunh? Whats this?
Parade clowns filling their sacks with….Well a little investigation revealed what was going on – this was the cache for Candy Cane Booty.
Mystery solved – so now I knew where all the free candy canes that were given along the parade route come from – this was the candy stash.
And I had just emerged at the Christie staging place for the Santa Parade, otherwise known for the nearby park, as Christie Pits. Even at 10:30AM there was already a big crowd of people gathered either to join their float team or meet their fellow band members or simply to watch all the goings on prior to and as the parade got started.
But the next thing I noticed was the sound of a marching band playing some Santa Tunes in their pre-parade warm-ups. They were very good.
Attica NY High School Band toots their horns..
Christie Pits is the perfect starting place for the Santa Parade because the big park allows the bands [and there were over 20 this year] to spread out and do some practicing on their latest tunes:
University of Western Ontario Band practicing near the Christie baseball diamond
But what really caught my sense of humor was all the UofT Engineering Band members enjoying the wait by taking their turns on the kids playground – swings, merry-go-round, even a few on the monkeybars. Now this is a band that knows how to relax and have fun. 
University of Toronto band members at play.
Floating Fun
The Santa parade marchers were not to be outdone in the scramble for fun. Lots of paraders were chatting around, posing for pictures and even playing a prank or two as they waited for the parade to get started. 
Fun Foursome just off pranks.
The paraders that seemed to be getting the most attention and comments were the gals dressed up as grapes. Now Christie is in the Italian and Portuguese section of the city – so that may account for some of the interest; but the costumes had a certain comically bulbous flair. You be the judge:
Check that wing span!
But the most impressive group at the parade was the Toronto Police Horseman’s Squad. When they came galloping by to get in position just at the start of the parade – everybody heard and felt the shudders of the horse coming by. Even at a casual gallop, this was an impressive display.
One can now really imagine a Calvary Charge from days gone by.
I thought coming down 2 hours early would give me plenty of time to get lots of pictures – not so. The parade goers are spread out over so much area and the chance to chat with friends quickly robs time. So next year I promise to get a picture of the premier player – Santa.
This beach umbrella marks much of the summer this year, except for BC – a lone forlorn Day at the Beach and then rain, storms, rain, cool winds, rain, and more …. cool rain. One would think the North American Tectonic Plate had transmogrified itself back to its ancestral home – England.
Now to be sure, people did come out when the Sun and warmth did – as this Beach shot testifies to. But the opportunities were mixed. The downside to this inverse Global Warming, besides the fact that Global Warming Doubters and Deniers were having many a field day to trumpet their distinctive message – “I told you so; and just wait and see what the Sun-spotless Winter is going to bring – the downside was that the moss and fungi on the back porch spread like wildfire.
However the upside was that people communed and commiserated together more. They not only took advantage of the week of really hot Summer days in mid-August by going to the beach and lounging around; but they also actively talked about the Bad Summer and the fleeting warmth. I know because I ear-dropped-in on not a few conversations [I know, breaking the Canadian photographers code, reveal no passionate social interaction].
But what I really liked was the audacity of it all down at the Beach. People were not beach, Beach, BEACHING. Quite the contrary – they not only turned out in droves but sported Beach Umbrellas in a variety of colors and designs. Above we see the National Colours And these were umbrellas that probably had not seen the light of day since last August. Though it must be said the Summer of 2008 granted Canadians two whole months of general sunshine, warmth, and real heat. Maybe it was a bit too much as Hazy was a big part of those halcyon Lazy Days.
Normally I stay away from touting TV shows. And Lord knows CTV is doing everything heavy handed it can with its promotions and website coverage of So You Think You Can Dance Canada [hint you don't have to cave to your sponsors every whim]. And the Lord and everybody else knows the judges on the US version of So You Think You Can Dance are SO BADLY OVER-THE-TOP that, despite very talented dancers, I have been unable to watch the program for more than 5 minutes [and I have tried over half a dozen times].Yet despite these downsides I watched So You Think You Can Dance Canada’s second season’s first performances show – the top 20 Dance Off. And here is a hint of why:
The dancers are very, very good. Okay, there is great athleticism, but also top showmanship as well. And as last year, the choreography is also a pleasure to watch. The pro choreographers are certainly a)using the enormous talents they have on stage and b)are also using the So You Think … situation with a puckish wryness.So the dancers are outstanding. The choreographers are very very good. The judges are not way over the top … and the staging and commercialization by CTV? Well, not so good. But the first two are so good … I will endure the rest to see some fabulous dancing performances.
Cirque de Soleil is celebrating its 25h anniversary this year. Part of the celebration has been a series of free shows throughout the Toronto Harborfront Park. This is wonderful for longtime Cirque enthusiasts who have wanted to take pictures of the wonderful costumes and colors sported by Cirque troopers over the years without having to risk life and limb with a surreptitious pic at a live Cirque Performance. So now you get a chance to see what has been admired for so long:
Maybe it is due to outdoors venue – but those colours look rather …uhh firebrand, wacky and gaudy as the set design and peripherals. In Cirque under the tent shows, they use dramatic lighting on relatively neutral background and costume colors. Not here – props and costumes are flamboyant. Another progression to be seen in Cirque acts is towards more humor. Whats makes the comedy more lively, is that Cirque’s directors insinuate the mirth into most challenging if not downright breathtaking acrobatics.
Another , more familiar element is Cirque’s very novel props. My friends insists this has been a Cirque staple since the very earliest days. But I ask you, are those brass egghead hats just a bit over the top? Yet they are used so inventively in the show that one cannot help but delight in the whole act. There are certainly not a few smiles to spare.
Finally with humor comes a plot line – daffy, obvious, and exaggerated as seen in the screenshot above. This means that “Cirque Stories” become, if possible, more memorable and engrossing.
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