Sporting his trademark red suit and bidding a hearty hello to the children of Bermuda, Santa Claus came to town yesterday as the Island's annual pre-Christmas parade wound its way through Hamilton.

Hundreds of people -- many no more than a couple of feet in height -- stood along Front Street to see St. Nick, who was drawn through the city by his eight tiny reindeer.

An army of volunteer elves (actually MarketPlace employees) dispensed candy to the watchers of the parade, which began and ended at City Hall and took in Par-La-Ville, Burnaby, Reid and Queen Streets.

Santa Claus' float was second to last in the order of proceedings.

Before the appearance of the jolly old elf, however, parade goers were treated to a wide array of sights and sounds.

Among the parade attractions were an old-fashioned firetruck, an electric car that is being raffled off by the Bermuda National Trust and a steel drum performance by the "shepherds'' of the Hamilton-based Black Box Performance Workshops.

Also marching by in uniform rows were a number of the Island's dance and majorette groups, including the Hamilton Parish Hot Peppers, the Pembroke Community Club and the 60-member Warwick United Majorette and Drum Corps.

Clad in everything from traditional tartans to electric blue and silver, they kicked up their heels, twirled their batons and beat on their drums in nothing less than symmetrical precision.

A colourful collection of gombey dancers brought up the rear.

By the end of the parade, however, it had become abundantly clear who the star attraction of the parade had been.

Cries of "Santa! There's Santa!'' rang out at regular intervals as Kris Kringle's float made its way down Front Street.

For his part, the bearded fat man let out a steady stream of "ho ho hos'' and waved individually to the small fry, who either clutched their parents' hands or scrambled for the goodies that were being tossed their way.

Then, almost as soon as he had appeared, he was gone, leaving a sense of wide-eyed wonderment in his wake.

HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS -- Bermudians received a red-suited visitor from the North Pole yesterday during the annual Santa Claus parade through Hamilton.