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Parade ushers in Christmas
By Johnathan C. Ryan - Reporter The Lancaster News December 3, 2006
It was a
beautiful night for a beautiful Christmas parade in downtown Lancaster on
Friday.
After a wet and windy day, the weather cooperated for a postcard-perfect
parade.
People of all ages came together to enjoy the more than 50 parade
entries, including commercial and homemade floats, bands, beauty
queens, local officials, cheerleaders, Scouts and clubs wanting to show
their pride, in the name of Christmas joy.
Downtown was aglow with white Christmas
lights on sidewalk trees, and illuminated decorations in business
windows, against the backdrop of a clear night sky. Friday's parade was
the second consecutive year it has been held in the evening. |
Santa Claus, aka Robert
Summers, waves from his float at the end of the Lancaster Christmas
Parade on Main Street on Friday evening. Aaron Morrison/Staff
photographer |
Lancaster County resident Michael
Morris said he likes a daytime parade since float details are easier to
see, but a nighttime parade allows for lights to glow, which is
appropriate for the Christmas season.
"The lights make things look really nice," he said.
Overall, the nighttime parade was a hit with many.
The Buford, Indian Land and Lancaster high school bands marched and
played holiday tunes. Several groups of middle school cheerleaders
and steppers attended, as did other dance groups and individuals
wanting to impress the crowd with their interests and talents. JROTC
members were proud to open the parade, and Santa Claus thrilled many
by closing it, on his special float.
Ty'kieonna Frazier, 8, and her siblings were thrilled to see him.
They're ready for his arrival on Christmas morning.
"Yes, I sure am," she said.
Loretta Duncan, who attended with family and friends, didn't
have a favorite float, but said she simply liked them all.
"All of them are special," she said, laughing.
Duncan said she really enjoyed the bands, but seeing Santa
Claus made it a true Christmas parade for her. Her
grandchildren, visiting from Florence, thought so as well.
They enthusiastically watched the parade, along with many
other children, who lined the street waiting for candy to
be handed to them.
"That will give them something to go home and talk
about," Duncan said.
Lancaster County resident Twana Boyd was sitting about
15 feet from the street, enjoying the sights and sounds
from a lawn chair. She'd like to see fewer floats and
more music in the next parade.
"I want more excitement," she said.
"There's just one float after another."
And more vendors would be nice, too, Boyd said.
"Where's the hot chocolate, the hot
dogs?" she asked.
There were a couple of funnel cake stands from
"Funnel Cakes by Diane," a Charlotte
business that usually attends, and a few
vendors were selling glow-in-the-dark jewelry
and stuffed animals.
State constable Joe Griffin, one of seven
constables helping the Lancaster Police
Department monitor the event, said the crowd
behaved perfectly in his watch area.
"It was a real nice, good crowd,"
he said.
The local police department was ready for
just about anything, Griffin said.
"They had everything laid out when
we got here. They're good people to
work for," he said.
The parade started on time at 6 p.m.
and ended about 7:15 p.m.
As quickly as the spectators had
showed up, they left, once Santa
Claus passed them by, waving from
his sleigh.
Contact Johnathan Ryan at
416-8416 or jryan@thelancasternews.com
Article © The
Lancaster News, reprinted with
permission.
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