Hundreds of people crowded the sidewalks along Bank and Main streets in Union Saturday to celebrate the Christmas season with the annual Union Christmas Parade.
With marching bands, floats, horses and candy, the parade wound through downtown bringing shouts of delight from children, parents and a handful of family pets.
Sherry Harrison, Union Chamber of Commerce director, said the turnout for the parade was fantastic.
“It was great,” she said. “We had, first of all, wonderful weather. I think that had a lot to do with it.”
Harrison said the parade also boasted a large number of participants. Over 32 different groups, clubs and organizations signed up to participate. However, she said, if individual vehicles and horses were counted, the count would be over 50.
“We had two bands, boy scouts, girl scouts, two car clubs and horses,” she said. “It just turned out to be a great evening.”
Of course, Harrison said, it wouldn’t be a proper Christmas Parade without the grand marshal participating. This year, she said, the grand marshal was Mr. Joe Marshall.
Additionally, she said, Union’s Citizen of the Year, Ralph Gardner, also participated in the festivities.
Harrison said thank you to all who participated in making this year’s Christmas Parade such a huge success, and congratulations to this year’s Float Contest winners: Union United Methodist Church, Milling Funeral Home and Cub Scouts Pack No. 29.
With so many people participating and even more watching, Harrison said the 2018 Union Christmas Parade exceeded expectations, and with luck, it will be even bigger next year.
