Santa Claus is coming to town, and a pair of Grade Four students from Toronto will be among the first to say hello to him this year.
On Sunday, at the 114th annual Toronto Santa Claus Parade, Rheon Vinorth and Patricia Clayton will have a chance to get up close and personal with Jolly ol' Saint Nick as recognition for their outstanding participation in this year's TD Summer Reading Club within the Toronto Public Library system.
Both Rheon and Patricia will be on the TD float, which this year features a young boy mesmerized by the amazing characters popping up from the pages of a giant story book, and will be seen by more than 750,000 parade visitors and viewers.
On the eve of the parade, we spoke with Rheon and Patricia about why they love reading so much and why they're so excited to be participating in this year's Santa Claus Parade.
Q: What part of the parade are you the most excited for?
Patricia: I am really excited about walking in the parade. I hope to see some of my friends there so I can wave to them.
Rheon: The float is really cool and I am excited to take part and walk with the other kids who were recognized [as TD Summer Reading Club champions].
Q: Where are you from and how many books did you read?
Patricia: Reading is fun! Over the course of the summer, I have read lots of books. I love pretending I am like the characters I read about and get to go on the same adventures as they do.
Rheon: I've read hundreds of books over the summer. I can read a chapter book in one sitting. One of my favourite book series are autobiographies about special people such as Albert Einstein and Bob Marley. Plus, after every single book I feel smarter and learned something new.
Q: What do you think of your costume?
Patricia: I am going to be dressed as an astronaut. I love how shiny my suit is.
Rheon: I think I scare my little brother. He thinks I am Captain Hook.
Since 1999, TD has been the title sponsor of the TD Summer Reading Club—a bilingual summer reading program delivered by more than 2,000 public libraries across Canada for kids of all ages and abilities. Designed to build a lifelong love of reading, The TD Summer Reading Club is part of TD's corporate Citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment, to help increase access to reading opportunities for Canadian youth.
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