Holiday parade enjoys warmer temps, bigger crowds

While last year’s parade left many disappointed due to the frigid temperatures and general lack of participation, this year’s parade recovered much of what had been lost in the previous year.

Children lined the streets, ready to scramble for candy as it was tossed from passing floats and other participants. Floats lined up to make their procession down Grand and Electric Avenues, where crowds packed both the sidewalks and street sides, and balconies were just as full of spectators who wished to view the parade from above.

In fact, anyone ill-fated enough to hunt for a parking space within 20 minutes of the parade’s start were lucky to find a spot and still catch the first floats as they went by. Every available parking space appeared to be filled within a three block radius, as well as a number of make-shift parking spots that were probably not designed with cars in mind.

Warmer temperatures brought families from both sides of the Lake out to watch and take part in the parade, and the number of floats also bounced back from the decline that had resulted from last year’s chill winds.

Santa waved to spectators and rose-cheeked toddlers from high atop a lighted sleigh and shouted greetings from an elf-chauffered golf cart with reindeer in tow.

“Ho-Ho-Ho!” chortled the jolly old saint, as he puttered past. “Have you been good little boys and girls, this year?”

Whether he was checking his list for the first or second time, Santa did bring plenty of smiles and a few laughs on the warmer-than-usual occasion, when families were spending more time trying to keep their little ones safely out of the path of floats and less time hiding them under blankets to ward off the frost.

Pockets were certainly overflowing with sugary spoils, as young scavengers watched the last of the floats disappear from sight and spectators headed off to find their vehicles or explore the light-strewn shops—after all, the night was still young.

The only thing missing was the hot chocolate, apple cider and roasted chestnuts, which some searched in vain to find and eventually resigned themselves to either do without or sate their cravings in one of the local shops or eateries.

Perhaps that was what local businesses were hoping for. Either way, that’s what they got, as the sound of jingle bells gave way to the “ka-ching” of cash registers.

Shop keepers continued to peddle their wares to holiday shoppers who were feeling the spirit—or “spirits” in some cases—of Christmas, until the last smiling faces vanished from Electric Avenue and the surrounding streets.