Excitement is growing for this year's Santa Claus Parade, with many special guests to attend the event.
The parade will return to downtown Windsor on Saturday, December 7, and will begin at Wyandotte Street heading down Ouellette Avenue towards the river before turning left onto Riverside Drive and ending at Caron Avenue.
The Windsor Parade Corporation, which hosts the parade, has noticed an increase in applications for this year, with many local retailers coming in with floats that they're designing.
The St. Clair College football team, who were crowned the best junior football team in Canada last weekend, will be celebrated during the parade, and Zach Dereniowski, also known as MD Motivator, was announced as Parade Marshal, and of course Santa Claus will be in attendance.
Renaldo Agostino, ward 3 city councillor, says he's very excited to have Zach Dereniowski as Parade Marshal.
"I know he's working on something very special to give the gift of Christmas to someone needy out there that needs it. And that's what he does, and it was a perfect tie in, and he's a great guy."
Maggie Durocher, Executive Director of the Windsor Parade Corporation, says they have a lot of new interest to be in the parade.
"This year in particular it started a lot earlier than it typically does. So we're really excited by that, we're excited by the excitement that we hear in the voices, and in the emails that we get from people that want to be part of the parade that have never been part of it before."
Durocher says having the St. Clair College football team and Zach Dereniowski in the parade will draw large crowds.
"The Stanley Cup was in one of our Canada Day Parades, and I know looking back at the pictures those years when the Stanley Cup, the Memorial Cup, things like that, were embedded into the parade were outrageous for the crowds that they brought in. And I fully expect to see the same thing this year, along with the Grand Marshal, I think that's going to attract a plethora of people."
More than 40 vendors will be selling goods at the Pelissier Street marketplace for the Jingle & Mingle Downtown Windsor Holiday Market before and after the parade.
Those interested in becoming a vendor at the holiday market can find more information by clicking here.