The third annual Santa Claus parade in Roy was very close to being cancelled. James Whitney, who has organized the event and dressed up as Santa Claus in town each year since 2022, was dealt a tough hand when it came time to plan for this year’s parade.
Not only has he battled health issues, but the City of Roy required him to pay liability insurance to host the event in town. Whitney could not afford the fees necessary, so he considered leaving it behind.
“I got overloaded with everything this year because they wanted permits and fees and all this different stuff,” he said. “I was starting to tell people I can’t do it this year.”
To his surprise, several businesses and community members stepped in to help him with the required expenses to make the third annual parade, scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, possible. WTPAC and Healing Touch and Aromatherapy stepped up to help Whitney with the bills.
As a result, this year’s Santa Parade will be bigger than ever, featuring more than 30 participants. Visitors are encouraged to line up and down Warren and James streets as vehicles, including Santa Claus’ float, make their way through town.
The parade will include a “deuce-and-a-half” military truck, horses, Ford Mustangs, Toyota 4Runners, goats and more. Santa Claus will hand out candy canes and take photos with every attendee to give them some Christmas magic and smiles.
“They get that smile and they go, ‘This brings back memories of me being a kid,’ and that’s what it’s about is being able to have somebody reflect and have those memories,” Whitney said. “When you have events, you remember those way more than junk and electronics and all that. It’s about the memories that you can store and keep forever.”
Whitney started dressing as Santa Claus in the Key Peninsula area volunteering with the local fire department over two decades ago. After moving to Roy, he returned as Santa Claus when the COVID-19 pandemic hit to bring Christmas spirit to Roy and McKenna during the difficult times. In 2020 and 2021, he took only a handful of vehicles and handed out candy canes to children through neighborhoods in town, but he realized that he needed to do something bigger.
“There were so many people that were like, ‘Man, we missed you. We were so close.’ So I had to figure out how to get everybody in one area so they can’t say they missed me,” Whitney said. “So two years ago, we decided to do the loop through town.”
Nine decorated vehicles participated in the 2022 parade, and 300 people from the community sat to watch the parade. The following year, only five people participated, but 300 people still showed out to enjoy the festivities. Whitney expects another big crowd on Sunday.
“They’ve got to come out to see it. It’s something special to watch,” he said. “Just the families taking time to decorate their stuff and show it off, and everybody’s smiling getting to see it. It’s just a good time to sit there and warm up, bring some hot chocolate and sit in your car with your blankets and watch the parade.”
