This year’s Santa Claus Parade in Toronto will be a special one for its creative director.
“This is my 50th parade,” Alf Iannarelli said. “I have done, with this one, 50 parades.”
Iannarelli began working for the Toronto Santa Claus Parade as a sculptor and later became a float designer. From there, he became the parade’s creative director and general manager.
Over the past 50 years, Iannarelli has helped build more than 1,500 floats while entertaining more than 200 million people around the world.
“Alf is, well, Alf’s a bit of a legend,” Clay Charters, the parade’s executive director, said. “He’s been such an amazing ambassador on behalf of the parade for now 50 years.”
“It’s a phenomenal accomplishment.”
Iannarelli said he is most proud of the parade’s growth over the past five decades.
“The fact that ever since I’ve been involved we’ve put down 50 fabulous parades down the street,” he said. “Our audience gets bigger and bigger every year.”
“The appreciation for what we do is so rewarding. Our audience is, if you look at the people on the street, it is the city of Toronto reflected in every way. That’s what’s so rewarding about it.”
Joining Santa Claus Parade was his ‘destiny’
Iannarelli said he came to Canada with his family from Italy in 1953 at the age of three.
“My aunt already lived in Toronto and sponsored us,” he recalled. “We arrived in Toronto at night, stayed at my aunts. The next morning, my aunt bundled me up and told me in Italian, ‘this three-year-old boy, I’m going to take you to something special.’”
“She took me to see the 1953 Santa Claus parade – my first full day in Toronto. Santa had his grips on me early.”
After the 2019 parade, Iannareli said he will be retiring – at least full-time. He said he knows he’ll remain just a phone call away from his colleagues.
“The great thing about Alf is you get the sense that this is something that’s in his blood forever,” Charters said.
As Iannarelli plans to step back from his full-time role, he said he knows he’s leaving the parade in good hands for the next 50 years.
“My piece of advice to them is never lose the love of magic,” he said. “Never lose the love of anything is possible and let’s not forget what Christmas is really about.”
“As long as you keep that in your heart, you’ll be fine.”
As for what’s next for Iannarelli, he said only Santa knows.
“He’s not telling me anything. He’s just very tight-lipped. We’ll see, we’ll see.”
The Toronto Santa Claus Parade is scheduled to take place on Nov. 17, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
