Gilroy’s annual Downtown Holiday Parade became the physical
manifestation of a verbal axiom Saturday evening when the rain
began to pour – but the stormy clouds didn’t hinder people such as
Rios and his mother from turning out to partake in the
festivities.
A colorful mini-market of holiday booths and live entertainment
occupied Fifth Street as early as 2 p.m. between Eigleberry and
Monterey
– an element Eric Howard, Downtown Business Association
president, said was new this year.
As he neared the front of the line to have his picture taken with Santa, 5-year-old Isaiah Rios fidgeted with enthusiasm.
His Christmas wish list short and sweet, Rios named off a mental cache of gift preferences.
“I want a motorcycle,” he said, not pausing to think twice.
When asked if he knew how to drive one, the boy nodded his head assuredly.
“Also an electric scooter. And an Xbox 360. And a sniper BB gun.”
Gilroy’s annual Downtown Holiday Parade became the physical manifestation of a verbal axiom Saturday evening when the rain began to pour – but the stormy clouds didn’t hinder people such as Rios and his mother from turning out to partake in the festivities.
A colorful mini-market of holiday booths and live entertainment occupied Fifth Street as early as 2 p.m. between Eigleberry and Monterey – an element Eric Howard, Downtown Business Association president, said was new this year.
This year, he estimated between 1,500 to 2,000 people braved the elements for the occasion.
“It was colder last year,” said Janet Wilde sliding her hands into the pockets of her long blue coat, noting last years’ frigid temperatures required mittens and hats. “This weather may keep people inside … but this parade is definitely a community-supported event.”
Vendors included individuals such as Sue Middagh from the Gilroy Demonstration Garden on 777 First Street, who hand-packaged delicate parcels of mistletoe; and juniors from the Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, who lured bystanders with a mouth-watering smorgasbord of baked goodies.
“I went to Jack in the Box,” said Ashley Costantino, 16, explaining how she kept from nibbling on the tempting spread of sweets in front of her.
The parade’s second annual doggie-dress up event was also a source of whimsical amusement.
A Queensland heeler named Scarlet dressed as Santa’s elf took first. She was followed by a fluffy Pomeranian named DJ taking second and a Shih Tzu named Gidget dressed as Mrs. Clause earning third place.
On being dressed up, Gidget’s owner Vicki Scott said the pooch “loved it.”
“DJ told me he was not happy at all,” joked owner Jody Baty.
Prior to the parade, a doting audience of parents and bystanders gathered as the Gilroy Unified School District Elementary School Choir performed holiday classics in front of the Downtown Christmas tree. Hands holding cell phone cameras sprouted above heads to snap pictures, and a resounding “LET IT SNOW” occasionally boomed across the loudspeakers as a front-row singer inched closer and closer to the microphone.
“My husband bolted three bikes together,” laughed Nilda Wilde as she stood outside Sue’s Coffee Roasting Company with her in-laws.
She explained the entry her spouse created for the parade – a bike-sleigh her daughter, Annika, 7, and son Dylan, 9, would ride on – took him a month to create.
When 5:30 p.m. rolled around, parents and children huddled on the sidewalk beneath trees, awnings and multicolored umbrellas as an eclectic procession made its way down Monterey Street under a light rain shower.
Bay-colored horses with decorated manes and tails that glittered in the precipitation pranced on the asphalt, cheerleaders performed choreographed routines to Christmas music by Mariah Carey and free flying discs whizzed out of a passing Denny’s truck.
There was no shortage, of course, of participants on moving vehicles flinging candy at spectators, or kids running around and smacking each other with blinking light sabers purchased from foot vendors pedaling traditional parade accessories.
“It was interesting,” said ‘Smashin Smeesha’ of the South County Derby Girls, on skating in the rain.
She said their rough-n-tumble roller derby crew includes women from 18 to 47 years old.
“I only fell once,” she said. “But we learn how to fall. We’re professional fallers.”
Smeesha, or Lisa Wharton when not on the track, indicated the groups’ sassy black and pink tutus are their “special event wear.”
As the parade came to a close and final participants skipped passed the announcer’s stand, it was difficult to gauge who garnered more enthusiastic applause: Santa Claus or Gil, the giant garlic bulb mascot of Gilroy Gardens.
Clearly, Gilroy’s allegiance to its city symbol donning a Santa’s hat is something St. Nick can’t touch.
When it came time for Santa to light the tree, a half-second delay after the final countdown yielded several “uh-oh’s” from the crowd. Slight electrical malfunction was evident, given the wetness.
But the tree did light up, and Christmas in Gilroy was officially kicked off. Gilroy City Councilman Dion Bracco thanked community members for coming out, despite the weather.
“It shows what a wonderful community Gilroy is,” he said.
Afterward children and their parents filtered through a vacant building at 7433 Monterey to see Santa, where volunteers from around the community had transformed the interior to a winter wonderland. Carolers from the Gilroy High School Chamber Choir embellished the ambiance, singing favorites such as “Joy to the World” in the background.
On her way in, 5-year-old Journey Womack munched on complimentary popcorn, and said she was hoping to find a hamster under the tree come the big morning.
If she gets one, she’ll name it “Leavesley.”
“We’re into living things, this year, joked her aunt Suzie Salgado.
As he gazed at the expansive waiting line to see Santa, Howard said he hoped the parade and surrounding activities will continue to blossom, eventually lasting the entire day.
“We want (the event) to get bigger and bigger every year.”
