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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, November 25, 2009 · 20 The inside story on Santa By Nikki Wesley OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Trafalgar Village SHOPPING CENTRE 21 · Wednesday, November 25, 2009 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com 125 CROSS AVE. OAKVILLE ACROSS FROM THE GO STATION CERAMICS · CARPET · ORIENT AL RUGS · VINYL · HARDWOOD CERAMICS · CARPET · ORIENTAL RUGS · "I've never seen THE Oakville Beaver!" said one parade-goer as I strode past practicing my stride in gigantic rubber furry feet. It was evident Oakville residents enjoyed meeting the Oakville Beaver mascot at the Santa Claus Parade Saturday. It was mutual. Walking in a Santa Claus parade was a childhood goal of mine. My family went to see the parade every year without fail. It was magical, the heralding of the Christmas season and the first appearance of a multitude of Santas I would see in the days leading up to the holiday. I have photographed many Santa Claus parades, but never participated until now. Many may find walking as a mascot in a parade embarrassing, but I was quite excited. The night before I was pinning the Santa hat to the costume -- hiding in my closet to keep my costume away from my curious and destructive dogs. At that moment, I had an epiphany; I'm a 27-year-old woman delighted at the prospect of marching downtown Oakville as a life-size cartoon beaver. Should I have my head examined? As it turns out. No. My biggest worries, that the Cheer Force girls would accidentally drop someone in front of us or I would fall behind and get whacked with a flag from Buy one pair of glasses at regular price (perscription lenses & frames) and receive the second frame at NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER Say I Love You This Christmas DELIVERING NEWS ON SANTA: The Oakville Beaver was at the 61st annual Oakville Santa Claus Parade thanks to photographers Nikki Wesley, a.k.a. The Beaver, and Karen Newman, a.k.a. a Christmas elf/newspaper carrier. the twirling group, were all forgotten as we started marching. My co-photographer and spotter, elf Karen Newman, said 20 minutes in "I can't see your face, but I know you have a big smile ear to ear." Dancing around like a fool, waving at kids with red foam noses, wide eyes and wider smiles, I couldn't help smiling. Seeing the crowd through the two-inch tall mouth vent, all the people smiling, waving and wishing parade volunteers Merry Christmas, I knew I would definitely do this again. There is no comparison to the feeling of having smiling children you've never met run up and hug you. The high fives, fist bumps, waves and smiles never stopped. There were a few kids who were unsure and even two who started screaming as I passed by. But even at the end of the parade, when I was dripping with sweat, and still couldn't take my costume head off because it would horrify the hundreds of children still milling about, I was still having fun. As I sat in a parking lot waiting for my ride afterward, Karen said, "Look left." A little guy wandered over and I waved. When he knew the giant fuzzy teddy bear like thing was waving at him, the smile that lit his face was priceless. 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