Rudolph gets a nose job in time for Winnipeg's Santa Claus Parade
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer has a shiny new nose and the parade float he's on has a new look in time for the Santa Claus Parade on Saturday.
JCI Winnipeg, which has maintained the parade's iconic Santa float for more than 50 years, is refurbishing it with the help of landscape ecologist and designer Samantha Braun.
For starters, the float's lead reindeer had his glass-bulb nose replaced with a larger and brighter bulb the size of a baseball.
"There's some duct tape around Rudolph's nose; he just had a nose job," Natasha Fisher, JCI Winnipeg's 2015 chapter president, told CBC News on Thursday morning.
"But it is going to be all ready for Saturday, so you're going to see Rudolph's nose — bigger, brighter and redder — coming down Portage Avenue. People are not going to miss it."
As well, the blue tarp on the float has been replaced with sparkly white mesh, burlap and red lining, and lights have been placed throughout.
"Last year there was kind of a deep blue sparkly sheeting over a majority of it and a lot of silver tinsel, and we removed all of that and kind of really simplified it and cleaned it up and put a bit of a more modern take on it," Fisher said.
On Thursday, volunteers were working on adding more lights as well as trees and presents — and, of course, making way for Santa himself.
This year marks the 106th anniversary of Winnipeg's Santa Claus Parade, which was started by the Eaton's department store chain in 1909. The parade is now produced by the Winnipeg Parade Committee.
This year's parade coincides with festivities leading up to the 103rd Grey Cup, which is taking place at Investors Group Field on Sunday.
Street closures
Motorists will want to take note of these street closures around the parade route on Saturday afternoon.
These streets will close first, starting at 2 p.m.:
- Portage Avenue from Sherbrook Street to Main Street.
- Portage Avenue East from Main Street to Westbrook Street.
- Hargrave Street at Portage Avenue.
- Colony Street, Vaughn Street, Kennedy Street, Edmonton Street, Garry Street and Fort Street at Portage Avenue.
Then these streets will start closing to traffic at 3:15 p.m.:
- 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 Stevenson Way eastbound will be closed between Main Street and Waterfront Drive
- Carlton Street, Donald Street, and Smith Street will all be closed at Portage Avenue.
The streets will remain closed until about 11 p.m., according to the city.
Winnipeg Transit buses that operate in the downtown area will be re-routed from about 12:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. Check Transit's website or call 311 for more information.
