Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan reaches southern Alberta

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on November 30, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

With light snow falling and frigid temperatures, the Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan rolled into Lethbridge on Thursday night with a special appearance by Santa Claus outside the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre where it was part of the Glow Festival.
The caravan’s appearance was the first of four in southern Alberta over coming days. The caravan was at the Coaldale Food Market last night from 5 until 9 p.m. as part of the town’s Christmas parade and is in Fort Macleod today for its parade at 11 p.m.
The caravan will also be at Lethbridge Polytechnic on Monday from 5-8 p.m. during its Coldest Night of Lights event.
Operating in conjunction with the Caravan is Coca-Cola’s “Canada’s Kindest Community” contest.
This contest is seeking submissions with the goal of identifying, celebrating and rewarding one Canadian community with a donation of $50,000.
“The Holiday Caravan was born from an opportunity to spread optimism and share joy in communities coast-to-coast,” said Todd Parsons, CEO of Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited in a media release.
“By uniting the Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan and Canada’s Kindest Community Contest, we connect the joy of the holiday season with making a meaningful difference in the communities where we operate. We believe kindness is contagious, and every kind act, no matter its size, has the potential to make an impact.”
The contest was launched in partnership with the Community Foundations of Canada with nominations open until Jan. 6. The community with the most submissions per capita will be named as Canada’s Kindest Community and get the $50,000 to be donated to a local non-profit organization supported by Community Foundations of Canada as well as a 2025 Holiday Caravan experience.
The caravan started Nov. 14 in Halifax and ends Dec. 22 in Vancouver.
Gord McDonald, Lethbridge District Sales Manager of Coca-Cola, and many of his team of 48 from the local distribution centre withstood the cold on Thursday night as visitors to Glow and others stopped by to look at a brightly lit semi-trailer rig and take photos.
The purpose of the caravan is to “encourage visitors to embrace their inner Santa and share an act of kindness with others during the festive season.”

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