Kelowna haunted house organizers set to hold Christmas parade

After a successful Halloween parade, the organizers of the Grenfell Road Haunted House have decided to keep spirits high for Christmas.

Candace Banks is one of the organizers of the Christmas parade which will make its way around the City of Kelowna, Dec. 19. Organizers put on a Halloween parade this year since their Haunted House was cancelled due to COVID-19.

“The Halloween parade ended up being such a huge success,” she said, adding that it started as a joke to do a Christmas parade which snowballed into something more.

The parade will be a little smaller than the Halloween parade and will start at 4 p.m. in Central Kelowna. The parade will travel in Kelowna’s downtown, before heading to Glenmore and Rutland, and Candy Cane Lane.

“It’ll be quite similar to the Halloween parade, you’ll see a lot of blowups, ornaments, as well as Santa, probably a few crazy elves running around,” Banks said. “The route might be smaller but the parade is going to be a little bit bigger this time.”

The last parade was a little overwhelming emotionally because of the community support, Banks said.

“To see the people out there and just forgetting about their worries for even 10 to 15 minutes meant so much to us, especially when we hit the seniors parks that we did… they were just in their windows waving and it was heartwarming to see that.”

Organizers will be fundraising for Mamas for Mamas and a donation link will be set up on the Grenfell Road Haunted House Facebook page about a week before the event.

The Halloween parade saw $2,100 raised for the non-profit and collected toy and clothing locations.

Banks asks residents to be aware of COVID-19 protocols and ensure they social distance within their groups while watching the parade.

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