After a one-year hiatus, Merritt’s Country Christmas Week is returning with a full slate of festivities this November.
“We are absolutely thrilled,” said co-chair of the Country Christmas Committee, Carrie Ware.
2020 was the only year in Merritt’s collective remembered history that the last full week of November didn’t kick off the Christmas season for the community, due to restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the latest regulations surrounding COVID-19 will allow for all events that Merrittonians have come to love and look forward to, to go ahead. This includes the Christmas Tree light up, the parade, Christmas craft fair, community Christmas concert and annual dance recital.
According to Interior Health, indoor organized gatherings such as the Christmas concert and dance recital can operate at 50% of venue capacity. Fairs, festivals, and trade shows, which includes the craft fair at the civic centre, can proceed as normal with COVID-19 precautions in place.
The Christmas Tree light up and Christmas parade are classified as outdoor organized gatherings and can resume normal operations as they have in Christmases past.
“As of that latest info, as long as they don’t throw anything else at us,” Ware explained.
Last year, residents reached out to Ware asking if there was any way that the events, particularly the parade could go ahead despite the pandemic with some modification.
“I think it means a huge amount to the community,” said Ware.
“I know there were lots of disappointed people last year, because of the parade, mostly. A lot of people pointed out that the grad parade went ahead. The grad parade is a procession, they follow traffic rules. A parade with people who walk, with ATVs, with vehicles towing multiple trailers, it’s not a procession, it doesn’t follow traffic laws. Therefore, you have to have the streets barricaded off. Which means volunteers, which I don’t manage to get for the parade.”
This year, Ware hopes to double the length of the parade route, although she assures Merrittonians that it will remain downtown.
“The only caveat with the parade this year is that the parade route may change to try and extend it, as long as I get the volunteer base to have the bodies to have the barricades manned.”
This will help with social distancing and ideally give more people the option to watch from their vehicles, particularly the elderly or those with small children who don’t fare well under the sometimes inclement weather on parade night.
“I’m trying to make sure that parking lots are incorporated along the route so that people can park and watch from their vehicles where they can stay warm,” said Ware, who said it all hinges on being able to get enough volunteers.
“Volunteers are huge. The entire committee is volunteer, we do not get paid we do it because we love the event. We do it because it’s such a huge event for the community and it’s so much fun, but without volunteers nothing happens. For the parade, it’s a safety issue.”
However, the benefit of being a volunteer keeping people on the sidewalks and off the streets is that you can still watch the parade start to finish, with a front row seat. Volunteers are also integral to making sure that the floats are in the proper order and lined up correctly for the judges.
There will unfortunately be no Polar Express float this year, but Santa will be in his usual seat at the end of the parade, and Ware encourages community members and businesses to get started on their floats as the date sneaks up on us.
“I’ve already had someone ask how to get a parade application, from someone who’s never done it before,” said Ware.
“So, that right there tells me that people really want this. It kicks off Christmas season for the town.”
