Another Award for GCAT at the Guelph Community Santa Parade!

Posted November 29, 2015

This year’s Guelph Community Santa Parade was a great success.  With the balmy weather, it attracted more families in Guelph than ever.

And, for the second year in a row, GCAT got a parade award.  This year, we won “Best Community/Non-Profit” Award.  That made us happy.

But what made us happier was the number of people that participated. Last year, we had about 10 people. This year, we had 25.

 

We also had a greater variety of participants, but with a surprisingly common theme…canoes!  We had Mr. and Mrs. Canoehead, (Ned Coates and partner Goldie Sherman) as well as Suzanne Gates and Bob Bell pulling canoes with their bikes….showing that you can truly do anything on a bike!

We also had more families participate.  Some who regularly ride their bikes and wanted to show Guelph what is possible.

Two suggestions were made for next year’s parade:  we need musical accompaniment (in the form of a boom box and theme related music), and more walkers.  Getting around on foot is important too.

To me, this Guelph Community Parade illustrated just what a sense of community can be developed through making it easier for people to participate actively in their community.  Most people love riding bikes, so it is hoped that the City of Guelph will continue to “step up to the plate” and make it easier for ordinary people to get around the city by bike safely. Not just to race, not just to be in nature, but also to get their daily needs accomplished:  going to work, visiting friends, picking up a thing or two at the grocery store, going to the dentist.  We need safe bike infrastructure for this to happen.

It can be done.  Lets do it!