The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Charitiesbig winners too Continued from page 8 9 · Thursday, December 6, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com Inc.; Runner Up: Annex Dance Academy; Honourable Mention: Oakville School of Music · Best Mascot -- Dragon; Runner Up: Six Light Bulbs People's Choice Winners · Floats -- First Place: Oakville Academy for the Arts; Runner Up: Walton Church; Honourable Mention: Oakville Gymnastics · Bands -- First Place: Halton Regional Police Service Pipes & Drums; Runner Up: The Western Mustang Band; Honourable Mention: Top Hat Marching Orchestra Once again, Oakville residents could vote for their choice for best float, and for the third time for their favourite marching band. The Oakville Academy for the Arts, which participated in the Parade for the second time this year, won Best Overall Float, Best Commercial Float and the People's Choice Award for their gorgeous music and dance-inspired float -- the group won all three top awards last year as well. A monetary prize of $500 is awarded to the Best Overall Float. This award is determined by the highest overall score. Charitable groups and schools keep the prize money, however, non-charitable groups must donate their prize money to the charity of their choice. The Oakville Academy for the Arts will donate their prize money once again this year to Kerr Street Ministries. This year's awards presentation was held on Nov. 29 at the Operating Engineers Banquet Hall in Oakville, where the theme for the 65th annual Oakville Santa Claus Parade was chosen: Celebrating 65 Years. Oakville charities were also big winners this year as residents were extremely generous with their donations. The Friends of Falgarwood raised more than $4,100 for Wellspring-Halton through the sale of red noses. The Kinsmen Club of Oakville was thrilled with the response to The Salvation Army Food Drive this year, collecting a record amount of food in the specially decorated Oakville Transit bus and more than $4,400, which will greatly benefit The Salvation Army. The Oakville Professional Fire Fighters also received a record number of toys for their Toy Drive. Oakville residents showed once again the real spirit of the season is in sharing with others. -- Submitted by the Oakville Santa Claus Parade Committee P hotos & Videos FREE WITH SANTA November 30­December 24 Tuesday­Friday Saturday Sunday Christmas Eve 10am­8pm 10am­6pm 11am­5pm Reservations only ** Donations will be accepted, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the organization Sleeping Children Around the World. New This Year ­ Holiday Fastpass* Spend $250 and receive your choice of a front-of-the-line Santa Pass or free gift bags for your purchases! Paws & Claus Pet Photos December 3, 10 & 17 2pm­8pm Reservations required** *See Guest Services for details. **Space is limited. In-person reservations only, booked on a first come, first served basis. Visit Guest Services to reserve your time slot. Visit oakvilleplace.com for more information.