20 November 2020 – The MarketPlace today announced details of the modified plan for the safe production of the MarketPlace Christmas Parade on Sunday 29 November at 5pm. This year the parade route will expand, starting at Shelly Bay MarketPlace, traveling through the City of Hamilton and ending at Heron Bay MarketPlace.

Seth Stutzman, president of The MarketPlace group of companies, said: “The MarketPlace family believes in upholding traditions, particularly during the festive period. Under these challenging times, we felt more so than ever that it was important for us to keep our community spirits high and holiday traditions alive and ensure the safe production of the annual Christmas parade was a top priority. For more than 30 years the joyous holiday event has been the kick-off to the festive season, and it was our goal to remain committed to that. We’re thrilled what we’ve come up with. While it will be a different experience for the safety of participants and spectators, joy and celebration will remain.”

The health and safety of all participants and spectators is The MarketPlace’s top priority and this year’s parade will be expanded to allow the many spectators to comfortably distance from one another and are encouraged to only gather in small groups.

As part of The MarketPlace’s plan to adhere to government guidance a number of changes will be implemented in order to execute this event safely. These changes include but are not limited to the following:

• Expanding the traditional parade route to allow for greater viewership. Parade route is as follows: start at Shelly Bay MarketPlace, travel west on Northshore Road, continue onto Middle Road, Cavendish Road, Reid Street, then left on to Court Street, right on to Front Street, right on to Queen Street, right on to King Street, continue to Spurling Hill, East Broadway, Crow Lane, Trimingham Road, right on to South Road, continue on to Middle Road until Heron Bay MarketPlace
• Reducing the overall number of participants
• All participants will be appropriately socially distanced and required to wear face coverings depending on their role
• Vehicle only participants, performances will not be included, to ensure the parade moves continuously

Additionally, viewers will be able to track the exact progress of the parade as it travels across the island from Shelly Bay MarketPlace to Heron Bay MarketPlace by visiting www.marketplace.bm or The MarketPlace app (available to download in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store).