Frigid temperatures that settled in late this week caused the downtown Santa parade in Shawano to be postponed for what is believed to be the first time in its 19-year history.
Officials from the Business Improvement District scrambled to get the word out to parade participants and others after voting about 11 a.m. Friday to put the event off until next week.
“I don’t think this has ever happened before,” BID Coordinator Marissa Rycroft said.
Rycroft said she started getting phone calls as early as Wednesday from several of the youth groups that had been slated to perform in the parade, informing her they were bowing out due to the single digit temperatures and subzero-wind chill being forecast for Friday night.
Rycroft said she had also heard Friday from downtown business owners that a lot of customers told them they had no plans to come back for the parade because of the cold.
Indoor activities went ahead as scheduled for the Holiday Stroll. The parade will take place at 6 p.m. Friday.
Friday was the coldest day of the season so far, but even lower overnight temperatures are predicted for early next week.
Lows of 7 degrees below zero are forecast overnight Monday and Tuesday, not counting the wind chill, with a chance of snow showers on top of that.
Things are expected to improve significantly by Friday, just in time for the rescheduled parade, with a comparatively balmy high temperature of 27 degrees and a low of 18.
