Holiday Light Parade ready to illuminate downtown

by Staff Pioneer Times
15 years ago

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Holiday lights will sparkle this Saturday evening as the annual Holiday Light Parade winds its way through Houlton.
    The popular yuletide event typically draws a large crowd to Houlton’s downtown business district. Last year, it was estimated that more than 3,000 individuals lined the streets to watch the parade, which culminates with a tree-lighting ceremony in Market Square.
    The parade begins at 6 p.m. at the Andy’s IGA parking lot and proceeds down North Street and up through Market Square. Santa Claus will once again be making his way to Houlton to ride in the Holiday Light Parade and to help light the town tree in downtown Houlton. Again this year, Santa’s elves will be busy transforming the downtown area into a special visiting place for Santa to greet the children. Local merchants will also be open for shopping, and have traditionally reported an increase in business during the light parade.
ImageFile Photo
ON DISPLAY — The annual Holiday Light Parade brightens up the night sky each year.
    The theme for this year’s parade is “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and floats are encouraged to come up with creative ways to illustrate one of the 12 days on their floats. The following rules will apply for entries in the parade:
    • Commercial entries will be limited to one car or truck, which must be significantly decorated with lights. Vehicles towing floats are excluded from this limitation.
    • Oversized (not street legal) vehicles must have an adult walking by each wheel.
    • Walking participants may hand out items to spectators, but throwing items such as candy into the street or crowd is expressly prohibited.
    “It’s an exciting time of year,” said Lori Weston, executive director for the Houlton Chamber of Commerce. “The Holiday Light Parade is just one event that works to promote community spirit throughout our area. Our community does such an incredible job of supporting events like the parade, the Arts and Crafts Fair at the Gentle Memorial Building and so many of the other local bazaars and fairs throughout the Holiday Season.”
    For more information on the parade, call 532-4216.