Santa Claus will not be visiting uptown Saint John on Saturday night after all.

Organizers have been forced to cancel the 69th annual Santa Claus Parade.

Zach Richard said the decision was made due to safety concerns with the weather.

“It’s looking like we’re going to get about 50 millimetres of rain and wind gusts up to 60 kilometres per hour or so,” Richard said in an interview.

The committee met with Saint John police on Thursday morning and made the decision to cancel.

Richard said it was not an easy decision to make, adding they would have loved to see the parade go ahead.

“We know a lot of people are looking forward to it, especially people that have set up these floats weeks in advance,” he said.

There was no storm date selected as part of the planning process for this year’s parade.

Richard said it was not feasible due to the number of staff needed versus the number that were available.

“Next year, we’re going to be definitely looking at having a rain date,” he said.

While the Saint John Santa Claus Parade will not be going ahead this year, Richard said the Lancaster and KV parades next Saturday are still on.