Toys Come Alive at Alachua's Christmas Parade

ALACHUA ‒ Main Street Alachua was alive with the holiday spirit this past Saturday, Dec. 9 as the Alachua Chamber of Commerce hosted the annual Christmas Parade through the downtown area. Annually, businesses, government departments, civic groups, churches and more sponsor floats to entertain spectators and compete for prizes.

On Saturday, children anxiously awaited the parade for a chance to see Santa Claus and secure sweet treats tossed from decorated floats or handed out by people walking alongside.

The parade featured some 73 floats decorated in this year’s toy land theme. The excitement and spirit of Christmas celebration were evident as children scampered around while waiting for the festivities to begin.

Parade participants lined up along North Main Street, and with a police escort of police cars and motorcycle patrolmen, the parade crossed U.S. Highway 441 to the sounds of wailing sirens accompanied by blue and red flashing lights.

Families and friends lined the street, some in lawn chairs, other perched on the curb, while still others stood, to watch the procession. Three law enforcement organizations were represented as Alachua Police Chief Jesse Sandusky was joined by High Springs Police Chief Antoine Sheppard and Alachua County Deputy Chad Scott as they walked the parade route leading the procession.

The parade's grand marshal, longtime resident, businessman, and Chamber of Commerce member Jerry Smith greeted the hometown crowd from a vintage blue convertible Mustang.

The City of Alachua’s float, featuring a huge toy chest filled with oversized stuffed toys, carried members of the Alachua City Commission.

Volunteers, walking alongside the floats, were dressed in Christmas dress or portrayed characters such as Santa's elves, and handed out candy to the children along the parade route. For the children, it was an exciting experience, seeing the colorful floats and costumed characters, along with free candy and gifts.

Other float sponsors and participants included Mi Apa Restaurant, Girl Scouts, MatchMaker Realty, All Stars Twirling Academy, Momentum Dance Academy, Santa Fe Babe Ruth Baseball team, the Alachua Business League, Alachua County Property Appraiser Ayesha Solomon, Santa Fe Soccer Academy, the Mebane Cheer squad, Hare Krishna members and a long list of others.

Parade favorite Santa Fe High School Raider Regiment engaged the crowd with their holiday melodies and were accompanied by Santa Fe High School’s festively dressed dance teams and the varsity cheerleader squad.

As each float passed the judge’s stage at the intersection of 148^th Place and Main Street, parade MC's Ben Boukari, Jr., Damon Messina and Robert Bonetti announced the sponsor of each float, oftentimes pausing long enough to chat with the participants.

The parade finale was the star of the show as Santa Claus waved to the children as he rode by perched on top of a firetruck. Excited youngsters waved and called out Santa's name, surely thinking about gifts he may leave under their tree to be discovered Christmas morning.

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