It was a cold windy day November 19th, but that didn’t stop Chillicothe from having their annual Santa Claus Parade in downtown Chillicothe. The Chillicothe Chamber of Commerce brought everyone together to help bring Santa Claus to town once again with their theme of “Christmas on the River.”  Dave and I were honored to be asked to be the Grand Marshals of the parade this year. Some of you know that  I rarely go to parades and I have never been in a parade. I have to say that being on the other side of things gives you a different perspective of what all goes into putting a parade together. 

Street closure signs needed to be in place and the platform with microphones and speaker had to be set up for the emcee of the parade—Master of Ceremonies Don White, Chamber President—to give the announcements of each float as they went by. Other volunteers worked with all the participants to make sure the lineup was in proper order to coordinate with the announcements. And of course all the participants put in several hours decorating their vehicles, floats, or themselves to partake in this annual event. We started lining up at 1pm with many floats getting their last minute adjustments while everyone was getting in proper order. The marching band assembled, the flag girls were practicing, and of course Santa was preparing for his appearance on the last float in line. 

At promptly 2pm, the police escort started his siren and the parade began. The streets were filled with all ages, bundled up to see “Christmas on the River” Chillicothe style. It was a lot of fun to see all the kids scurrying for the candy that was thrown and see their anticipation to see Santa. It was a fun day enjoyed by many.