The Magic of Christmas Parade in Langley City is being rated a success, even though it had fewer floats than last year.
That’s according to a report on the 2017 event to City council. which has suggested adding washrooms and food trucks and having the pre-parade activities spread out to three or four locations along the parade route to encourage families to attend and helped divide up the crowds.
The report by recreation supervision Tera Edell also said parade watchers told City staff they would like to see food carts or food trucks along the parade route, available prior to the start of the parade.
“Many people came down for the event around 4 p.m. and stayed until approximately 7:30 p.m. the Edell report noted.
This year, the City made arrangement to provide music at three locations along the parade route because many entries didn’t have music.
“All of the feedback received from the public stated that the music created a much more festive atmosphere than past years,” Edell wrote.
“This would be a great asset to include at the parade for future years.”
While the number of entries was lower in 2017 (41) than 2016 (46) “the entries that did participate, for the most part, put in more of an effort,” the report said.
READ MORE: Magic of Christmas parade held in Langley City
The good weather contributed to larger than usual crowds, with people line up five deep along some sections of the parade route.
It was the second year that the parade committee partnered with Sources Food Bank to hold a food drive to collect donations.
Ten vehicles had to be towed between 204 and 208 Streets on Fraser Highway before the parade got underway, a process that took over an hour, the report said.
The report goes to council Monday, with a request for a boost in parade funding.
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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