The tradition of the Santa Claus Parade coming down Whitney Pier’s main drag has divided people for days now.
“I was upset with the situation. I live in Whitney Pier and have two young kids,” said resident Michael Vickers.
Vickers says he attended a meeting in Whitney Pier on Sunday about getting the parade back in his community, but instead of directing his attention at politicians, he contacted the committee organizing the parade.
“I love my community, Whitney Pier. I love the Santa Claus Parade and I love Christmas in general and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m not going to yell and complain and not do anything. I need to do something to see if I can find a resolution,’” said Vickers.
The resolution will include the parade returning to Whitney Pier.
“It’s been a challenging week, but thankfully some awesome people from Whitney Pier came to us and we had a great meeting the other day and came to a great resolution,” said Sydney Santa Claus Parade Chair Alisha Barron.
On Friday the original parade committee and members from Whitney Pier partnered up to try and do their best to make sure the event’s history will remain.
“The passion that these folks brought to us and we just came to a common ground. Christmas is about bringing people together and bringing communities together, so we just sat down and had a civil conversation,” said Barron.
Before that, other groups took a different approach by putting up posters taking aim at the Cape Breton Regional Municipality mayor.
The Christmas controversy also came with the allegation of threats on both sides, but in the end, organizers say that's not what changed their decision.
“Let’s get this done. It’s important to everyone and all the communities and let’s make it awesome. We need it after the last three years and the last week,” said Barron.
Organizers say the exact route will be announced at a later date. The parade is scheduled for December 11.
