The season is upon us and with that comes time with family, hot chocolates and Santa riding atop fire trucks, of course. The sixth annual Christmas Eve Santa Run has become a tradition for Cochrane families and will be no different this year as Cochrane firefighters have been in talks with Old Saint Nick informing him of all the communities that he will need to pay a visit to come Christmas eve.
"It started with one of our members that grew up in Cranbrook B.C. and he remembered as he was growing up that the fire service would have Santa going through Cranbrook and we decided to try it here and the first year was very successful and ever since then its just gotten a little bigger with a few more add-ons each year", explains Dave Levisky, senior firefighter with Cochrane Fire Services.
Specific times and locations will be set in each community as to when families can gather and expect to see Santa riding atop the fire truck. Levisky adds stops will be made in every community for a few minutes so children can say hello to the man in the red suit as well as get some candy canes. At this point they will also be accepting any donations for the Cochrane Food Bank. Town councillor Alex Reed had the idea of collecting donations and following its first year of triumph, Levisky says they will continue with the idea in coming years.
The neighbourhood with the "Best Community Spirit" will also win a chance to square off with firefighters in a street hockey game. It will be the community kids vs Cochrane Firefighters in a friendly competition. Last year was the first year the hockey game was implemented and it was such a hit that it's back again.
The community that wins "Best Community Spirit" will play host to the street hockey game. Last year Heartland took the first place prize.
"They were by far the community with the most spirit. It felt like the whole community had come out to see us and a lot of big donations were given," said Levisky.
Off duty firefighters will be sent out to the winning neighbourhood along with a couple fire trucks. A portion of the street will be blocked off and game faces will be put on as the matchup gets underway.
"We do it on the first Saturday of June, just as the kids are ramping down school and we just go out for a couple hours," said Levisky. "We had about 20 - 25 kids out and some parents and it was a fun game of street hockey with the firefighters."
He mentioned that last year the community kids beat the firefighters and although it was close game, the kiddos pulled through for the feat.
The Christmas Eve Santa Run has become a staple for Cochranities and will continue to lift Christmas spirits and togetherness come the holidays.
"I think it's a really nice way to start the Christmas season. We hear a lot of good feedback from parents that the kids want to get to bed and they saw Santa, they know he's around and they're excited for their presents in the morning. It's a real nice coming together for the community."
Times, routes and stop locations are yet to be confirmed. Check in next week's Cochrane Eagle edition to see when Santa will be coming through your community on Christmas eve.
