December 24th
Christmas
Parade in Downtown Turlock
Miss Stanislaus,
Jennifer LaMar poses with Isabel Urrutia of Turlock
at the Festival of Lights
I got all ready for the Christmas parade
in downtown Turlock. I put my jacket and scarf on. I
got my family ready. We loaded up our collapsible chairs
and headed downtown. We even went half an hour early
because we wanted to make sure to get good seats. Well,
everyone else in Turlock had the same, exact idea! Oh
well. So we settled into our spots, next to a set of
grandparents who had brought their granddaughter. Before
the parade began, I walked up and down the middle of
the street just to look at all the people. Teeny, tiny
babies in baby slings, loads of children, couples on
dates, families, grandparents, friends just hanging
out…everybody wrapped up in jackets and blankets.
And that was just on one block!
There were vendors out selling light sticks and light
sabers. Many of the Main Street merchants opened up
their stores. The Merchant Mall (which I’m embarrassed
to say I had never been in before) was open. It was
gorgeous! There were beautifully decorated trees inside
the mall, long lines for coffee and hot chocolate, and
hundreds of people. Some of the stores even had tables
set up outside, so nobody would miss them! There was
a hot dog vendor that never seemed to be lacking customers.
The street itself was lit up with the Christmas decorations
and lights I’ve come to love. The tree that was
officially lit for the Festival of Lights the previous
weekend was a nice backdrop. This was a really, big
deal!
Paula Schultz, Mae Chaves and
Lucas Schultz of Turlock bundled up and ready for the
entertainment.
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Then the moment came. Little kids started yelling to
their parents, “ Momma! I see it! It’s coming!”
And it was. There were the usual cars with politicians
(though just a couple). Of course, it’s always kind
of cool to see the mayor. There were the expected marching
bands, which I love to hear. Although I have never figured
out how the girls in front can stand the cold. They did,
though, and with smiles on their faces. I’m quite
sure they were frozen on by the time they got to my block.
The fire baton twirlers rocked my daughters’ world!
Naturally, Santa came last. He almost got rushed by the
kids on our block!
What a spectacle it was! The creativity of some of the
floats was amazing. The amount of time it must’ve
taken to put all the lights on the Joy bus (which we have
featured on our cover) must have been days! We ooh-ed
and ahh-ed with our neighbors all throughout the two hours
we were there. Yes, I said two hours. This was no dinky
half-hour production. When Turlock does something, it’s
done well! My family had such a good time. Sure, my leg
was sore from balancing a kid on it all night, I couldn’t
feel my nose after an hour, and my foot fell asleep, but
it was totally worth it. Next year, I’m bringing
an extra blanket (or ten), and I’m going a full
hour early. Meet ya out there!
Moses Barajas of Turlock dancing
to the beat of the live music during the pre-parade celebration
Kerry Strickland (owner) and Sylvia
Kruse from A Beautiful Reflection set up a booth near
Kerry's permanent boutique located at 202 West Main St.,
suite 212.
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