More parade entries sought for Saturday

The annual Christmas Parade of Lights is set for 6 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 14, around the Holton Town Square. To help encourage participation, $50 cash awards will be made to the top floats in the following categories - religious, business and club or organization.

Line-up for the parade will start at 5:30 p.m. north on New York Avenue near Holton High School. The weather is expected to be mild and good for a parade.

This year, more area churches plan to participate in the parade with floats than ever before, it has been reported. That is great! A story on page one lists those who have indicated interest in participating in the parade, as of press time today.

Our Christmas parade should be a religious parade first and foremost. The children will always appreciate that Santa Claus arrives in town in the parade, but  we all know the real reason for the season!

A parade of lights such as ours is such a fun community activity.

It is hoped that there will be lots of area businesses represented in the Christmas parade again this year, too, but so far not a lot of them have indicated to us that they plan to participate. Not to worry, however, because that is pretty much how it works every year and yet we always seem to have a good parade!

It is also hoped that all of the emergency services vehicles - such as firetrucks, police cruisers and ambulances - will be represented in the Christmas parade, also, along with all of our clubs and organizations.

Everyone is welcome. Local families who enjoy parades are also encouraged to decorate a float or vehicle and participate in the parade, too. The main goal is to have fun.

In the Parade of Lights, floats and vehicles are lit up with Christmas lights and the parade is held just after dusk. The parade progresses around the Holton Town Square taking the same route as the fair parade and others.

Afterwards, children can have their photos taken with Santa and several local retailers plan to be open for business in the evening to accommodate shoppers.

I want to take this last opportunity to encourage everyone to participate in the parade. There should be a nice crowd on hand to watch the parade as it will be a “Second Saturday’’ Chamber event. We need more floats for the parade, and I am so happy that more churches are participating this year. 

With church interest growing, and with some regional networking of churches and businesses, I could envision our Christmas Parade actually becoming a more regional event with participation from more neighboring communities in the future.