Christmas came early along Ocean Drive as Sunrise Rotary wrapped the 38th annual Vero Beach Christmas Parade in a brightly lit bow for everyone to enjoy.
Civic groups, nonprofits, first responders, community leaders, businesses, schools and the Vero Beach High School Marching Band dazzled with a spectacular array of lights and holiday cheer that included flamingoes, pelicans, snowmen, snow flurries, dune buggies, golf carts, sailboats and airboats.
Participants dribbled, tumbled, marched and flipped their way down the street ahead of the main attraction, jolly old St. Nick, riding on his sleigh to close out a parade that boasted 98 entries, 60 of which were first-time participants.
Explaining how the parade got its start, Todd Darress, parade chair, said it grew out of the Crown Jewel Marching Band Festival held annually at Vero Beach High School.
“The Crown Jewel started doing parades, and then the community jumped on board, and it became the official Vero Beach Christmas parade,” said Darress. “This is still a hometown parade, and it is still all about families and kids.”
Sunrise Rotary teamed up with the Oceanside Business Association several years ago and when the pandemic hit, they even found a way to reinvent the holiday tradition. Their Reverse Parade invited families to drive past stationary floats from the safety of their own vehicles.
This year, so that even those who could not attend the parade due to mobility issues could enjoy it, Rotary streamed the parade over Facebook Live.
They estimated that more than 10,000 people attended in person and more than 172,000 views were logged on Facebook Live by residents of local assisted living facilities and by family members across the country, earning the parade a national viewing audience.
To garner excitement in the months leading up to the parade, Rotary hosted a Float Building 101 competition in the Dyer Chevrolet showroom; a Christmas Can Castle Challenge at the Indian River Mall, with cans later donated to a local food pantry; and Find Santa, where children looked for Santa at local businesses to earn prizes and a spot in the parade as honorary elves on the Rotary Chuck Wagon.
Photos by Ben Thacker
