Bring a can of food to Saturday’s parade

by Susan Mikula Campbell
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, November 1, 2007

Santa is watching to see if you’re naughty or nice, so it might be a good idea to bring a can of food to the Town of Niagara Electric Lights Parade on Saturday, Nov. 10.

A food drive, in cooperation with United Way, will be a new facet of the third annual parade.

Members of the Frontier Volunteer Fire Department have volunteered to go up and down the parade route with shopping carts provided by Wegmans to collect non-perishable food items, according to Town Clerk Sylvia Virtuoso. Wegmans also has donated some non-perishable food to help fill those carts.

The United Way of Niagara will distribute the food to area food pantries.

“We wanted to benefit a charity, and at this time of year, the food shelves in food pantries get kind of bare,” Virtuoso said.

The parade down Military Road, from Fourth Avenue to the Kmart parking lot, begins at 5 p.m. with a shower of fireworks. Theme this year is “A Salute to First Responders.” More than 75 units had signed up by Monday to participate, Virtuoso said.

The big guy himself will be there with his sleigh and live reindeer. Brandon Stone, 8, a student at Errick Road Elementary School in Wheatfield, won the right to be “Santa’s Helper.”