By Nathan Slauer
WKTV Community Contributor
Here comes Santa Claus! Here Comes Santa Claus, right down Division Street!
Yep, the annual Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce’s Santa Parade takes place Saturday, Dec. 14. Set to kick off at 10 a.m., the parade will feature 60 entrants, including Steelcase, the Boy Scouts, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Five high school bands will serenade the procession as it passes by.
This year’s parade starts at the corner of 34th Street and S. Division Avenue or the 34th Street Mall Parking Lot (formerly Hope Network). The parade will head southbound to Chase Bank near the corner of Division Avenue and Murray Street.
Bob O’Callaghn, president of the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce, said he enjoys checking out how entrants design their floats.
“Every year is unique,” O’Callaghn said. “We have an electrician who puts a Christmas tree on his truck.”
Along the parade path, businesses covered in holiday decorations open their doors to parade goers, and kids carrying bags collect candy from business owners and marchers.
“South Division gets a bad rep,” O’Callaghn said. “Our members want to highlight it, to say it’s a good place to work and shop. People don’t always get to go to the big parade downtown, so it’s great to see young people around here smiling.”
State Rep. Tommy Brann, R-Wyoming, said he likes seeing how the Santa Parade has grown since 2006. He recalls how the first Santa Parade took place during a blustery winter afternoon.
“It was a blizzard out there,” Brann said. “There were only around fifty to eighty people. We stuck with it, but it was a rough start.”
Over the years, the Santa Parade has developed a larger following and added new features, including a final stop at Brann’s Steakhouse. For an hour, families line up to take pictures with Santa Claus in the restaurant’s lobby. (Families are encouraged to bring their own cameras.)
“When you see the kids lined up, it’s so special,” Brann said. “It’s free, and it’s a great time to celebrate Division and Christmas.”
For more information, visit https://www.southkent.org/
