Many warmed themselves with coffee and hot chocolate from the local Starbucks on Saturday during the 87th annual Downtown Fresno Christmas Parade.
The parade, which was hosted by the Downtown Fresno Partnership, began its route began on H Street and ended on N Street.
Candy canes and chocolates were tossed to the audience by those on the floats, and local high schools, such as the Edison Tigers, were in attendance to lend their marching bands, color guard and cheerleaders.
The first of the floats was Mid Valley Disposal, the parade’s VIP sponsor. Next came “Candy Cane” sponsors including: Central Valley Community Bank, Fresno Housing Authority, Educational Employees Credit Union, Fresno Grizzlies, The Fresno Bee, Alert-O-Lite, Fresno Rotary, Rotary Club of Fresno and Top Hand Media.
“Sugar Plum” sponsors included: Haron Jaguar Land Rover, Councilmember Oliver Baines, PG&E, Play Fresno, Boese Commercial, An Irish Christmas, T.W. Patterson Building, Root and Jewel fm.
Fresno native Margie Salas said she comes to the parade every year and enjoys the school marching bands the most, especially because one of her granddaughters was formerly in Roosevelt High School’s marching band.
“I love to see the school bands, the Mexican horses and, of course, all the car clubs,” Salas said.
Chona Villa, who is also a Fresno native, said she began coming to the parade once she became a grandmother.
“The grandkids always make it so much better for me and my family,” Villa said.
Her granddaughter, Sonny Garcia, 5, was at her grandmother’s side as she said her favorite part of the parade is spending time with her cousins. As for her favorite float, Garcia’s grandmother responded and said, “Santa is her favorite.”
As Salas watched the parade, she expressed her fondness of Fresno.
“Fresno is a good place to live. I love it here,” she said. “It’s a good place to raise children. It’s kind of big, but in some ways it is still a small town.”
Not only were local businesses and schools involved in making the parade special to many, the Fresno Police Department was there to make sure the parade was safe and fun for all.
Fresno Police officer Mike Buessing, who was working in traffic for the parades, said his favorite part about the it is the kids.
“A lot of kids come out to this parade. You can see them, when Santa comes at the very end of the parade, that’s the best part because that’s who they want to see,” Buessing said. “Seeing their eyes light up, seeing Santa, makes you feel good.”
