Duane Hicks
Scott Street was a “Christmas Candyland” on Saturday evening.
The 2017 “Community Christmas Parade,” presented by tbaytel, went off without a hitch, drawing an impressive number of participants and spectators.
The parade included 18 floats (not counting emergency services’ vehicles or Santa’s sleigh, which brought the total number up to around 25).
And organizer Scott Krienke-Turvey, who spearheaded the event for a third year, said he was “very impressed” with the high quality of the floats–a sentiment also echoed among spectators.
“This has been our best year overall as far as the entry quality,” he remarked, noting there also were several participants who brought horses, mini-horses, and goats this year.
He urged them to take part again next year.
With so many good entries, it was hard for float judges to choose the winners. But in the end, the “Best Theme” award went to The Window & Door Store while the Fort Frances Vipers girls’ volleyball team got the “Most Creative” award.
Pharmasave’s float was judged as having the “Most Holiday Spirit.”
The winners each got a plaque from Fort Frances General Supply, as well as gift cards from DQ and Subway.
And while they were not eligible for a prize, the Fort Frances Voyageur Lions Club gave Santa’s sleigh a makeover this year to ensure Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the elves were riding in style.
Krienke-Turvey said the end result “was the biggest and the best” Santa float he had ever seen in the local parade.
A “Weirdest or Wackiest Hat” contest also was held during the parade.
Camie Gray and her nearly three-foot-high Christmas tree hat won a plaque from Ink Spotz Apparel+.
Overall, the parade ran fairly smoothly.
“It was pretty good. We had some hiccups, as could be expected,” Krienke-Turvey admitted, noting there was a point when a gap developed between floats.
“But in the end, from the reports I got back, everything seemed good,” he remarked.
Krienke-Turvey gave special credit to all of those who made the parade such a success, stressing there wouldn’t be any parade without the volunteers, the people willing to create and participate, and the spectators who lined both sides of Scott Street.
He said he’s more than willing to head up the parade for another couple of years, especially if tbaytel comes aboard again as the major sponsor.
In fact, Krienke-Turvey hopes to expand the parade next year so that at least some of the floats will pass by Rainycrest for residents there to see.
He’s already looking into the logistics of it with Rainycrest and the town.
