Christmas is getting closer and one of the favorite Christmas activities in Cloverdale, Surrey, BC, is the Santa Claus parade. This is no ordinary parade. It has a lot of semi trucks, takes place at night, and the floats are all decked out with Christmas lights and decorations.
The Cloverdale Santa Parade is on December 1, 2019 starting at 5pm.
Big rigs
The Cloverdale Santa Parade used to feature a lot of big trucks that came over from Vancouver Island. The Cloverdale Business Association raises money to bring them over. Gas for those big rigs isn’t cheap and neither is the ferry fares. Over the years not so many come any more. The good news is as the Cloverdale Santa Parade gains in popularity, many local businesses and trucking firms are showing up.
One year they didn’t coordinate too well and there were three floats that had Santa Claus! Ha ha!
Normally Santa is on the last float. He used to get off the float at Hawthorne Square to light up the Christmas tree on top of the Dale Building.
Anyway, I haven’t see a tree on the roof of the Dale Building for a few years. Probably because it kept tipping over after being rain and wind battered.
Parade route
I’m not sure of the route for the Cloverdale Santa Parade 2019. The parade route seems to change every year. Even if you look at the Santa Parade of Lights website they’re showing the parade route from 2017 in the drawing below.
The website says they’re looking for parade entries for the Santa Claus Parade 2018. Ha ha! Apparently they have the power to turn back time! Ha ha!
Anyway, it’s up to you to decide whether the information is outdated. There might be slight changes, but the Christmas Santa Claus Parade for sure will be going along the main street in Cloverdale, 176 Street.
The parking lot around the Cloverdale Fairgrounds is the staging area for the parade entries. In the past the parade exits the fairgrounds and head south along 176A Street. When they reach 58 Avenue, the parade turns west (right turn) for the half block to 176 Street where it turns south (left turn). At 57 Avenue, the parade turns west (right) and then peters out there as they get to the Cloverdale Bypass (Highway 15) and turn back to the fairgrounds. However, some of the rigs head to Surrey City Hall.
Don’t ask me which way they go to get to Whalley!
If the Cloverdale Santa Parade follows the route they took in 2017 – see the above drawing – they’ll still be on 176A Street exiting the fairgrounds, but at 58 Avenue they’ll turn east (left). At 177B Street, they’ll turn south (right). When they get to 57 AVenue, they’ll turn west (right) until 176 Street where they’ll turn north (right) and finish up at 58 Avenue where they’ll turn west (left) to Highway 15.
In other words, you might not know the exact parade route until you arrive in Cloverdale!
To ensure you see the parade and don’t end up a block away, you’ll be safe if you’re on 176 Street between 57th and 58th Avenues. That’s where most of the people watch the parade, so get there by 4pm if you want a good spot. You can also stand on 176A Street between 58th and 60th Avenues, and it’ll be less crowded there.
Parking
Don’t show up in Cloverdale 15 minutes before the parade starts and expect to find a spot. To park your car that is. The streets closest to 176 Street are closed down for street parking because they’re staging areas or part of the parade route. If you park in a temporary no-parking zone, you’ll be towed. The Cloverdale Santa Parade has no shortage of tow trucks participating in the parade. The last thing you want to see is your car has become an inadvertent parade entry on one of those tow trucks!
It’s free to park in Cloverdale unless you park somewhere that you’re not supposed to and end up with a fine or a towing bill.
There’s a public parking lot on the corner of 176A Street and 58A Avenue. There’s a larger parking lot a block south on 176A Street between 57 and 58 Avenues. If you remember the old Clova Theatre, right behind there.
There’s a smaller public parking lot on 56A Avenue, just west of 176 Street, behind the Cloverdale Firehall. That might be tricky to get to unless you arrive well in advance of the parade’s starting time. If 176 Street is blocked, you can head to Highway 10, turn into the Husky gas station and go through the alley to 56A Avenue. This is a small lot. Don’t hold your breath there’ll still be spots.
You can also drive further east if you’re up for a walk and park on 58 Avenue east of 177B Street. Or try one of the streets on the west side of Highway 15, aka the Cloverdale Bypass. That’s a residential area – 58th Avenue, 57A Avenue and 57 Avenue.
Don’t park in the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. For one thing, you can probably find closer parking. Second, it’s the parking lot for Elements Casino and horse racing is on that Sunday afternoon. The casino doesn’t take too kindly to people parking there who aren’t patrons.
Also don’t park anywhere if you see temporary no parking signs due the parade route.
Photos
Here are pictures I’ve taken of the Cloverdale Santa Parade over the years.
