A beautiful sunny day drew an estimated crowd of over 60,000 Downtown to see Santa and his cast of clowns, characters and floats. Congratulations and thanks to all Parade participants, volunteers and spectators.

The winners of today's Parade are:

Large Float (over 20 feet):
1. Provincial Airlines
2. Kid Connection
3. Eastern Avalon Area Scouts Canada

Best Performing Group:
1. Barbara Ashley School of Dance
2. Fusion Dance Studio
3. Connie Parsons School of Dance

The staff of Newfoundland Power collected over 20,000 pounds of food along the route which is equal to $40,000 worth of groceries for the Community Food Sharing Association. Over $6,000.00 in loonies and toonies collected as well.

Thanks to our Parade sponsors and supporters:

Newfoundland Power
Stirling Communications
FI Oilfield Services Canada

The Annual Downtown Christmas Parade is organized and brought to you by the Downtown Development Commission.

The Annual Downtown Christmas Parade will happen today at 1:00 pm starting from the Aliant Building Parking lot on Factory Lane.

The route is as follows: Starting on Factory Lane, travelling west along Plymouth Road, west on Duckworth Street, down Prescott Street onto Water Street, travels west along Water Street and ends at the Railway-Coastal Museum.

The Santa Shuttle is running from the Confederation Building and Bowring Park starting at 11:30 am on a load and go basis. This is a free service but donation to the Food Bank wii be gratefully accepted.

Bring your letter to Santa and a non-perishable food item in aid of the Community Food Sharing Association.

For more information call SANTAHI (726 8244).

The Annual Downtown Christmas Parade is organized and brought to you by the Downtown Development Commission (DDC)

Sponsored by Newfoundland Power, Stirling Communications and FI Oil Field Services Canada

Join us Downtown on Sunday, November 25 as we welcome the Jolly Old Elf himself to historic Downtown St. John's.

The Parade starts at 1:00 pm from the Aliant building on Factory Lane, proceeds along Duckworth Street, down Prescott Street to Water Street and ends at the Railway Coastal Museum.

Kids don't forget your letter to Santa. Canada Post employees will be on hand to collect your letters and deliver them directly to Santa! Don't forget your loonies and toonies or a non-perishable food item for the CFSA. If you need a ride to the Parade hop on the Santa Shuttle starting at 11:30 am from Bowring Park and Confederation Building.

If you need a ride to the Parade hop on the Santa Shuttle starting at 11:30 am from Bowring Park and Confederation Building.

Stay tuned to OZFM on Sunday morning for any important Parade updates or call the Santa Hotline at SANTA-HI (726 8244).

The Annual Downtown Christmas Parade is brought to you by the Downtown Development Commission.

Sponsored by:
Newfoundland Power
Stirling Communications
FI Canada Oilfield Services

On , December 7 the membership of the Downtown BIA (Business Improvement Area) will elect six (6) members of the Board of Management.

Deadline for nominations is today, Friday, November 16, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. Nomination papers are mailed by the City to all membes of the BIA. Nomination papers are available at the City Clerk's office at City Hall or at the DDC office. For more informaiton call the City Clerk's office at 576 8446 or the DDC at 579 4139.

Today's Tax Free Day Downtown. Over 50 shops and services are participating in this annual event to kick off the start of the holiday shopping season. Be sure to check out all your favorite shops and take a peek at some of the new shops and services.

For a complete list of participating stores check out Wednesday's edition of the Telegram and stay tuned all day to Hits 99.1 on your radio for further details. Participating stores in the Tax Free event will also be displaying a Downtown Tax Free Day participant sign in their window.

Don't forget, You'll Find it Downtown!

Newfoundland-based Steele Hotels has started design work on a 50 to 70 room hotel set for west-end Water Street in St. John's, making it the third mid-sized hotel development announced this year for the downtown.

John Steele, president of Steele Hotels, purchased the land several months ago for less than $500,000. Since then, he's had holes drilled in the lot to test its building capacity. He recently hired an architect to begin design work.

"We're just getting preliminary drawings and investigating what we can put there. We're looking at sort of a boutique-type hotel - more of a higher-end property."

Steele owns six hotels in the province: the Capital Hotel in St. John's, the Glynmill Inn in Corner Brook and four hotels in Gander.

Steele says the business climate for hotel development in St. John's is good. He credits strong tourism, mining and oil industries as the reason for his planned expansion. Steele's optimism is due to the Hebron oilfield development. He's also hopeful the province will soon develop a new oil refinery and iron ore processing facility.

The hotel site is across New Gower Street from the Delta Hotel, which is the province's largest hotel.

"Burger King always goes across from McDonald's. But we want more than spillover. We want to be a destination, a primary choice and I think we'll be able to do it in terms of personalized service and amenities."

Steele hasn't applied to the city for approval. He's finalizing his business plan first.

"I want to see the cost of putting something there and whether it works. But we are looking at it."

Last month, Halifax-based Southwest Properties submitted an application to the city to redevelop the former Newfoundland Telephone building on Duckworth Street into a $3.5-million, high-end hotel.

Marriott Hotels has redevelopment plans for the former Woolworth's building on Water Street. It wants to build extended-stay suites, in part to take advantage of an anticipated increase in oil-related travel resulting from the Hebron development.

Steele doesn't think the city's hotel capacity has reached the saturation point yet.

"I think there's room to go. The thing is, you adjust your plan to what the market is, but I think the market can still hold up."

By Peter Walsh, The Telegram Friday, November 9, 2007