Thousands turn out for Christmas Parade - What a parade it was!

On Saturday, Main Avenue in downtown Fallbrook was lined with thousands of people who were hoping that it wasn’t going to rain on our parade. It didn’t, and the 26th annual Fallbrook Christmas Parade was presented to dry and happy onlookers.

The hungry in the crowd appreciated workers from Vince’s Pizza, who sold pizzas from the sidelines. The cold and thirsty appreciated hot chocolate served by members of the Pop Warner Cheerleading squad. The steaming beverage was poured for the parade crowd on a “donation only” basis. It kept many fingers, including mine, from going numb from the cold.

The US Marine Corps Marching Band led the parade. Arlyne Ingold, a significant sponsor of the parade, who will celebrate her 90th birthday this month, made an appearance and Grand Marshal Dode Martin rode in what looked like a vintage sports car.

Riding in a sports car is appropriate for Martin, since he has established a fine reputation for restoring classic roadsters and building dragsters. He has lived in Fallbrook since 1926.

Parade entries came from as far away as El Cajon and Lake Elsinore. The Fallbrook Film Factory had a different twist with their “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme. Captain Jack Sparrow swaggered down Main while a loudspeaker boomed, “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me…”

Big trucks abounded. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) members rode on a huge military transport vehicle that looked as big as a house. The Village News crew rode in a fire truck from Camp Pendleton and a green truck that was so huge it barely looked street legal. When the driver blew the horn it sounded like a train whistle!

Miss Fallbrook Kate Derr and Honorary Mayor John Harris appeared in vintage cars and another area celebrity, the Fallbrook Rotary’s Red Lobster, gave the crowd two-claw waves.

More than one twirling team marched down the street with flaming batons and bands from several schools entertained the onlookers with their music and marching. The Mae Ellis Elementary School entry consisted of a tambourine band.

Several youth groups, including Troop 731 from St. Peter’s Catholic Church, sponsored entries. The St. Peter’s group had an interesting entry depicting a camping scene with a tent and a tree on top of the float.

The Fallbrook Branch of California Retired Teachers had a cute retro entry featuring a soda shop, a dancer with a poodle skirt and a woman dressed in ’50s style holding a huge ice cream cone.

Friends of the Fallbrook Airpark “flew” down Main in a single engine airplane outlined in bright Christmas lights!

The eight Budweiser Clydesdales were the parade stars. These massive horses with manicured manes clomped down the street pulling a red beer wagon. The horses were scheduled to appear in last year’s parade but were forced to cancel due to a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where they were filming a commercial.

Everyone seemed to be in the Christmas spirit except for one parade entry that was a bit confused. The song “Easter Parade” blared from the speakers as it sailed down Main. Oh, well – one out of more than one hundred isn’t bad!