Icy weather crashes Santa’s parade

PENTICTON – There was a promise of fire near the end of the 2013 Penticton Santa Claus Parade on Saturday evening and Remax didn't disappoint.

The realty company brought one-half of their iconic balloon – some would say the best half – the basket and burner. The operator would launch huge gouts of flame into the air which everyone cheered.

At this point dozens of floats had already passed by the frozen viewers and semi-frozen children wrapped head-to-toe in blankets. One woman stepped on and off a curb in order to keep warm. Several warm and heated stores had people pretending to be customers wander inside and then wander out.

Brave carolers sat patiently on a flatbed while their luckier comrades got to walk, which probably kept their blood flowing. As always lollipops and other treats were passed to young and old.

While it was cold there was no snow on Saturday evening in downtown Penticton but there was a large Christmas tree planted by city staff in the park at the corner of Main Street and Front Street.

To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065, send tweets to @shannonquesnel1 or @InfoNewsPentict.

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