The Oceanside Business Association and Sunrise Rotary Club picked up the reins of Santa’s Sleigh once again to host the 37th annual Vero Beach Christmas Parade. When visions of a parade were dashed last year, Sunrise Rotary reconfigured the beloved event, turning it into a 2020 drive-by pandemic version near the Vero Beach Regional Airport.
This year, the cheering crowds relished the illuminated festivities, their smiling faces beaming as participants made their way along an overflowing Ocean Drive from Flamevine to Live Oak.
Runners once again jingled their way pre-parade during the annual Candy Cane 3K, during which participants showed off their holiday spirit by running while outfitted with lights, stripes and reindeer antlers.
Families came early to ensure that they would have the perfect spot to watch the festive revelry – a good thing as parade officials estimate that it was one of the largest crowds they have ever seen. Annually taking place the first Saturday of December, it is always one of the most highly anticipated kickoffs to the holiday season for Vero Beach residents.
More than 50 groups, floats and boats were merrily decked out from stem to stern. Crossover Mission basketball players dribbled down the street with surefooted glowing shoelaces, along with various iterations of the Grinch, sharks, angels and pelicans. Local community leaders and first responders were represented, marching alongside local schools, bagpipers and giant reindeer, as gingerbread houses, sailboats and tractors walked, pedaled, paddled and scooted in a show of community spirit that is needed now more than ever before.
Wheeled recliners, bathtubs, coolers and toilets got a big laugh as Flinchum Builders rolled past children who giggled and stared in wide-eyed wonder. There were bubbles and sprays of snow, music, and puppies, and mini horses too.
Throughout the parade, the children kept a sharp eye turned down the road in hopes of spotting Santa’s sleigh gliding down the street, the last float in the parade. The jolly old fellow didn’t disappoint, waving from atop his magical sleigh that Dubois and Sons Jewelry have sponsored since the parade’s inception.
Photos by Kaila Jones
