VERO BEACH — The Oceanside Business Association and Sunset Rotary held the 29th annual Holiday Parade on Ocean Dr. on Saturday, Dec. 1, to the biggest crowd of spectators we have ever had.
The parade was a huge success with decorated floats, bicycles, motor- cycles, baby carriages, roller skaters, jeeps, cars, trucks, horses, and even an airplane. There were 50% more entries to the parade this year than last year.
The parade went on for almost an hour and a half. The crowd was lined up along Ocean Dr. 3 to 5 deep with no gaps.
The judges had a tough time, but here is what they finally decided:
Best of Parade – Piper Aircraft
Most Holiday Spirit was a tie – Indian River Habitat for Humanity and St. Helen’s School
Most Humorous – Florida Eye Institute
Winners will be acknowledged and plaques presented at the Jan. 5 Sunset Saturday Night Concert at 7 p.m.
A great many people spent a lot of time on all of the floats this year. Their hard work really showed off.
Special thanks to the Florida Equestrian Foundation for bringing their horses, which were a great hit.
Special thanks go out to Karen Dodson, dressed as Mrs. Klaus, for all of her hard work. She began working on the parade in June.
Also thanks to Deborah Hoover for her great work at Riverside Park in getting everyone moving out of there on time. Thanks to Ken Daige and all of the volunteers, especially the Rotarians, who worked so hard on Cardinal Dr. helping with the staging and street closings.
Also many thanks to Georgia Irish and Martin Bireley for their work on the parade committee.
As always, the city Parks and Recreation Department did a great job in getting all of the traffic cones and signs distributed for our use. We owe the sheriff’s department special thanks for their volunteers and help.