Holiday Parade in Venice Florida

The 2010 Holiday Parade in Venice Florida was a huge success.  Pre-parade activities started at 5:00 with live musical entertainment and dance performances, among others.  Venice High School and The Lions Club were several of the organizations providing food and beverages for a donation to support their non-profit fundraising activities.

Venice Florida is such a quiet quaint town.  For days, residents and guests have lined the sides of the main parade route, Venice Avenue, with folding chairs to reserve their seats.   The remarkable thing is that everyone respects each other and nobody bothers the chairs.

The sides of the streets filled with families waiting in anxious anticipation.  Children hoped to catch a glimpse of Santa and the darker it got, the more excited they became.   The parade began with the presentation of the American Flag and the National Anthem followed by the Venice Fire Department apparatus with sirens and lights ablaze.  Every manner of creative float followed.  Some were simple home made floats.  Others were ingenious creations of color, lights, and even belched fire.

The children were wide eyed as huge candy canes, Christmas trees, Manger scenes, clowns, circus performers, and a multitude of brightly colored lights went by with the fanfare of live singers and marching bands.  A Pirate ship with a Johnny Depp look a like was a hit with the crowd.  Throughout the parade, children scrambled to catch the candy and trinkets that rained from the floats.  One of the most heartwarming moments for me was to watch a couple in their 70’s sitting hand in hand, watching he parade with the same enthusiasm as the 5 year old sitting across from them.

This was certainly a wonderful time for the young and young at heart.