News
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"Toys on Parade" a success! (Monday, December 22, 2008) By Katie Tauer, Parade Committee ChairToys came alive as they made their way through downtown Lincoln at the 24th Annual Star City Holiday Parade. The Parade, produced by Updowntowners and the City of Lincoln and presented by Verizon Wireless, kicked off the holiday season with this festive holiday tradition on December 6, 2008. The excitement for this year's event started early with a preview night held on the eve of the parade. Pershing Auditorium was filled with early parade-goers being entertained by local dance performers and children having their photo taken with Santa. Outside the walking units were given the opportunity to practice their performance on the street and were then judged by our kid judges. The winner was announced by an award banner preceding the entry in the Parade. Changing tradition after 23 years, the parade route was reversed, stepping off at 14th and M, heading east onto Centennial Mall and north to 10th and O. The televised broadcast also received a new twist this year. With the change in the route, those who watched the Parade on television enjoyed the State Capitol in the background. The Hart Dance Academy kicked off the televised broadcast with a dance production to "The Polar Express". Larger-than-life toys, brightly-colored balloons and characters paraded down the street along with marching bands as the sights and sounds of the holidays came to life. As always, our parade ended with a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Santa and his most dedicated elves, as well as the U.S. Postal Service, collected letters to Santa along the route. There were many volunteers and community supporters that made this event successful. As chair of the Parade, I would like to extend a special thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors. Each volunteer did a fantastic job of completing his or her role, showing enthusiasm, leadership and dedication to this event and to this community. I want to extend my appreciation to the committee, the volunteers who assisted in the float factory and on Parade day, the volunteers who participated in the Parade and the organizations that supported it. This event would not be possible without each of you! Join us for the 25th Annual Star City Holiday Parade featuring "Magic. Memories. Wishes." on Saturday, December 5, 2009. |
