You better watch out… for crowds

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/11/2017 (2350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you’re headed to the Jets game Saturday afternoon, you may want to hang out afterward and take in the Santa Claus Parade.

In fact, you may have no choice, if the crowds are as big as organizers expect.

Santa is coming to town around the same time the Jets play a matinee game against the New Jersey Devils at Bell MTS Place.

Combined crowds are estimated at 75,000 on the 16-block parade route along Portage Avenue.

City officials, parade organizers and the NHL team sent out a flurry of advisories Thursday afternoon, alerting people to expect delays and plan ahead where they’re going to park if they’re attending either event.

“This year’s parade day coincides with a 2 p.m. Jets hockey game at Bell MTS Place. Anyone attending the game is advised to expect delays, plan ahead, and allow additional travel time to get to and from their destinations,” the city’s statement warned.

Close to a dozen downtown streets that cross Portage Avenue will be shut down to traffic at 1:30 p.m., a half-hour before the Jets game starts.

“If you live on the north side of the city… park north of Portage Avenue. Likewise if you live on the south side… park to the south of Portage Avenue,” the city bluntly advised.

The 108th Santa Claus Parade is the largest outdoor event of the holiday season, organizers boasted in their statement.

An estimated 60,000 parade-goers are expected to descend on downtown for the 5 p.m. parade that runs down Portage Avenue, starting at Young Street and ending at William Stephenson Way. 

Another 15,000 or so will be getting out of Bell MTS Centre at around the same time following the Jets game.

The location of Bell MTS Place is the site of the old Eaton’s Department Store, which holds a prominent place of honour in the history of the annual parade. It was Eaton’s that held the first Santa Claus Parade in Canada, in Toronto in 1905. It proved so wildly popular that Eaton’s rolled out similar parades in Winnipeg and Montreal just four years later in 1909.

The parade is also a major platform for the city’s biggest Christmas charity drive, the Christmas Cheer Board.

The Winnipeg Jets advisory noted that the timing means fans can expect the parade to begin shortly after the Jets’ game ends at about 5 p.m., giving fans a chance to stay and watch it.

Additionally, Prairie Theatre Exchange’s production of Ubuntu has two shows at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at its Portage Place home; comedian Ron James is at the Burton Cummings Theatre at 7:30 p.m.; Manitoba Opera’s Madama Butterfly begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Centennial Concert Hall; and Manitoba Theatre for Young People has a 4 p.m. start time for Of Mice and Morro and Jasp at The Forks.

Starting at 1:30 p.m. until approximately 8:00 p.m., the following road closures will be in place in the downtown to accommodate the parade:

● Portage Avenue will be closed from Sherbrook Street to Main Street

● Portage Avenue East will be closed from Main Street to Westbrook Street

● Hargrave Street, Colony Street, Vaughn Street, Kennedy Street, Edmonton Street, Garry Street, Fort Street, Carlton Street, Donald Street and Smith Street will be closed at Portage Avenue

● Main Street southbound will be closed between McDermot Avenue and Graham Avenue

● Main Street northbound will be closed between St. Mary Avenue and Portage Avenue

● Pioneer Avenue westbound will be closed between Main Street and Westbrook Street

● Westbrook Street southbound will be closed between Portage Avenue East and William Stephenson Way

● William Stephenson Way eastbound will be closed between Main Street and Waterfront Drive

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

Parade route and street closures