Port Colborne Santa Clause Parade

 On December 1, 2012 the members of POCOMAR joined forces with other organizations from the Niagara Region to take part in the annual Port Colborne Santa Clause Parade of Lights. Armed with over 1200 candy canes, boxes of lights and decorations, and our robotic friend Bobbie we met up at our new headquarters earlier in the afternoon to decorate our POCOMAR 2 (P2) vessel, which was to be towed by our Operations Officer, Brian Canter. Once the decorating was complete, we bundled up in our immersion suits and walked over to our staging area.
 The weather was milder than what we expected, but in no way did that affect our holiday spirit! We took our place in line and patiently waited for the parade to start. The route took us through downtown Port Colborne, along the canal, and then back up towards the center of the town. Thousands of onlookers cheered us on while a few of us waved from the deck, and others walked around and passed candy to the kids who were eagerly waiting with pillowcases and candy bags. Bobbie also made quite the impression on everyone by dancing around and greeting the families with salutations and warm Christmas wishes.
 The magic of all the lights combined with the excitement of all the onlookers showed me that the small town spirit shines just as bright as anywhere else, and that the Christmas spirit will always be in our hearts when we join together as a community.  

Article by: Melanie Gendreau
  

---