Thousands of people lined the sidewalks along Main Street in Festus and Bailey Road in Crystal City to watch the 74th annual Twin City Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade on Monday night, organizers said.
“We think there were at least 8,000,” chamber representative Nina Musante said.
“We definitely gave away all of our bags of candy,” said Mary Zebrowski, the chamber executive director. “That’s 3,500 bags of candy.”
She said plenty of people participated in the parade.
“There were about 85 floats and motorized vehicles,” she said. “We also had groups on horses, antique vehicles, dance groups and bands. There were three bicycle groups. We had the bands from Festus, Crystal City, Herculaneum, Potosi, St. Pius and Jefferson R-7 high schools. There were jeep groups.”
Glasstime earned first place in the float category.
Second Hand Heroes earned first place for its motor unit display.
The chamber announced the following parade entry winners:
■ Floats – Glasstime, first place: Scenic Nursing & Rehab, second place; SMCI Sheet Metal, third place.
■ Motor units – Second Hand Heroes, first place; Gold Star Harley-Davidson, second place; Buchheit, third place.
Organizers said the parade went off without a hitch, at least until the end when someone shut off a section of street lights on Festus Main Street.
The parade began at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Taylor and Bailey Road in Crystal City and proceeded along Bailey Road to Main Street in Festus and ended at about 8:45 p.m. in front of the Festus Public Library on West Main Street.
“We heard that the streetlights went out about then,” Zebrowski said. “It didn’t hurt anything. There was still plenty of light from the businesses.”
Festus officials said they believe someone purposely turned off the lights.
“It was vandals,” said Shane Dollar, the Festus street foreman. “They found the transfer box and shut off the street lights. It didn’t cause any problems.”
Other Christmas parades
Due to today's rainy forecast, organizers of the Pevely-Herculaneum Christmas Parade that had been scheduled for this evening, Nov. 30, have decided to cancel it.
Another Christmas Parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2, in De Soto.
On Saturday, Dec. 9, Christmas parades will be held in House Springs and Hillsboro.
A Christmas parade already was held in Kimmswick, on Nov. 18.
De Soto parade, other holiday activities
The 95th annual De Soto Christmas Parade is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday. The theme is “Christmas Express.”
The De Soto Chamber of Commerce-sponsored parade will start in front of Mahn’s Funeral Home, 900 N. Main St., and proceed along Main Street to St. Louis Street and end at J.C. Cullwell Stadium behind De Soto High School. Lineup is at 5 p.m.
In 2022, more than 150 units and more than 400 walkers participated in the parade.
The deadline to register is Friday. All entries must pre-register and prepay. The entry fee (covering five cars per organization) is $15. For more information, call 636-586-5591 or email desotomo_chamber@yahoo.com. Payments may be mailed to De Soto Chamber of Commerce, 47 Jefferson Square, De Soto, 63020.
The De Soto High School marching band performs during the 2022 De Soto Christmas Parade.
A number of other Christmas celebrations are planned in De Soto this year.
■ The Christmas season kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday at De Soto City Hall, 17 Boyd St., for the annual tree-lighting ceremony.
The De Soto High School Choir will perform and Santa will be present. A Nativity Walk is planned after the tree-lighting.
“Stroll down Main Street as the businesses will have nativity scenes in their windows on display,” said Sarah Greenlee, office coordinator for the De Soto Chamber of Commerce. “Many businesses will have extended shopping hours. Santa will be at the Arlington Event Center until 8:30 p.m. for pictures, and a vendor fair will be inside.”
■ De Soto’s second annual Cookie Walk will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Twenty businesses along Main Street are listed as participants, and three businesses outside Main Street are signed up to take part.
Mandi Franken, owner of Mercantile at Main and organizer of the cookie walk, said each business will do their own thing and some will host pop-up businesses in their stores. The De Soto Junior/Senior High choirs will be caroling.
“It will be a fun night of shopping and eating cookies,” she said.
■ At 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, the annual free Christmas movie at the Melba Theatre, 300 S. Main St., will be shown. Attendees are asked to bring canned goods for entry to “Arthur Christmas.”
■ If you need a picture of your pets with Santa, stop by the De Soto Public Library, 712 S. Main St., from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12. Bring your cell phone or camera to take a photo. Registration is not required and the event is free. For more information, call the library at 636-586-3858.
■ Children can have their photo taken with Santa at the De Soto Public Library, 712 S. Main St., 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14. Jessica Pogue of Pogue Photography will donate her time to take free digital photos. Registration is not required and the event is free. For more information, call the library at 636-586-3858.
Hillsboro parade, Community Christmas at the Farm
The annual Hillsboro Christmas Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 9, and will be followed by other holiday-season activities.
The parade, sponsored by the Greater Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce, begins at 5 p.m. on Hawk Drive at the Hillsboro schools campus and proceeds left onto Stadium Drive to Business 21 and then Main Street, ending on Vreeland Road.
“The Christmas Parade is always well-attended,” said Mandy Alley, a chamber board member. “The parade is free for businesses, organizations and others to enter, and it is a great way for a group to promote itself to the community.”
She said event organizers would like groups to register for the parade by Dec. 1, but that is a loose deadline.
“They can just show up the day of the parade, but we would like to hear from them (before the day of the parade),” she said.
A wagon drives through the 2022 Hillsboro Christmas parade.
Alley said 45 units, including floats, motor vehicles and marching groups, took part in last year’s parade, and she believes a similar number will participate this year.
“The parade usually lasts about an hour,” she said. “Santa Claus will be in it.”
Immediately after the parade, the “Community Christmas at the Farm” event will be held at the Hillsboro R-3 School District’s Bridle Ridge Acres farm adjacent to the Hillsboro schools campus. There, parents may take photos for free of their children with Santa Claus, as well as with some other special guests.
“The activities at Bridle Ridge Acres have become a big hit,” Alley said. “We have students who will dress up as Disney princesses and Prince Charming. We’ve added characters this year.”
Other festivities will include a tractor-lighting, a bonfire, Christmas music, farm tours, kids crafts, hot cocoa and cookies.
For more information, visit hillsborochamberofcommerce.com or the Greater Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce page on Facebook, or call 636-208-2125.
House Springs Lions parade
The House Springs Lions Club is seeking entries for its 18th annual Christmas Parade set for Saturday, Dec. 9.
Registration for the parade began this week, with the first in-person sign-up held Tuesday, Nov. 28, at the Jefferson County Library Northwest Branch in High Ridge.
Lions Club parade chairperson Kim Fanter said the theme for this year’s parade will be “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and all participants are encouraged, but not required, to stick with the theme when decorating their vehicle.
“It’s a great community event,” Fanter said. “If people go with the theme, great, but if they can’t and still want to do a float, all the better.”
Parade participants have two more chances to sign up for the annual event at the library, 5680 Hwy. PP, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, and from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6. Registration costs $15 per group.
Parade entries will line up at 5 p.m. in the Faith Community Church parking lot, 4824 Scottsdale Road, with the parade starting at 7 p.m.
The parade will proceed right onto Conrad Smith Drive to Dulin Creek Road and then to Hwy. MM, ending at the intersection of Hillsboro-House Springs Road and Hwy. MM.
Northwest Lionettes Maddie Woodward, Brooke Rowley and Sami Dean before marching in the 2022 House Springs Christmas Parade.
“There will be lots of lights, lots of floats,” Fanter said. “It’s a nighttime event so the vehicles and the floats are kind of illuminated.”
Fanter said she hopes to see an increase in the number of parade entries this year.
“I think the churches and the schools have dropped off a little bit (in participation), and even like the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, too,” she said. “Maybe that will change up this year a little bit.”
Fanter said both the participation in the parade and the number of people who line the route varies every year. In the past, she said as many as 4,000 people would attend the event.
Fanter said the parade is a great way to celebrate Christmas.
“The purpose is to bring this community together for one night every year,” she said. “It’s just really cool to see all the people out.”
For more information about the parade, contact Fanter at 314-422-8788 or kimrnpat@sbcglobal.net.