Mayor Dilkens and Members of Council

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Windsor Parade Corporation to request assistance from City Council with respect to sponsorship of the 52nd Annual Windsor Santa Claus Parade on Saturday Dec. 5 2020 at 6pm

As you most likely will recall in January the DWBIA formally served notice that they would not be hosting the Santa Claus or Canada Day Parades. At that time, we actively solicited new sponsorship for the parades and succeeded in obtaining new sponsorship.. I felt that it was important for you to know that we had been successful in obtaining a new sponsor and look forward to working with them in the future, as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

For the past ten months, we have been working to establish a safe and secure parade route in accordance with the City's SERT committee. Last month the health unit determined that only a Reverse-(meaning the parade stays stationary), DRIVE through parade was permissible given the present COVID restrictions. The City SERT committee turned down the application at that point noting that the new route was not an acceptable venue for that type of parade, and offered Mic Mac Park as an option. The sponsor then declined to sponsor the parade for 2020 given the alternative location, and mode with which the parade had to take place.

At this time, we have continued to work with the City to find an alternative location as the Mic Mac Park Location is not suitable for this type of event. It is not well lit; the roadway in question is at the back of the property and provides additional challenges. We are currently waiting to hear from St. Clair College with respect to utilizing their roadway system to host the parade

The Parade Corporation like everyone else has been decimated financially this year. With the loss of Summer Fest, we lost our main source of funding for the year. Parade sponsorship is utilized to pay for talent such as -horses, inflatables, bands and the Parade Corporations Floats, and not much else leaving the overhead, rent and logistical expenses to be paid for out of pocket. We are asking the City to cover the cost of sponsorship for $20,000 for this year. This will pay for direct costs including Inflatables from Dynamic Displays, which we are using in absence of marching bands, horse units including the Canadian Cow Girls, Entertainment from Dispatch Talent and some of our direct costs. In return for sponsorship the City of Windsor would be listed in all media including social media, radio and print as follows: The 52nd Annual

Tel: 519-254-2880 Email: mrssanta@mnsi.net Website: www.santaparade.org

Consolidated Council Agenda - November 9, 2020