Spectators were lined several deep for miles along Main Street and Broad Street in Columbia Friday night as the annual Kiwanis Club of Columbia Christmas Parade rolled through town.
Crowds estimated by some at more than 5,000 watched as more than 100 units rolled in the parade.
But Friday night was just the beginning for downtown Columbia. Saturday’s events included the monthly Main Street Cruise-In, put on by the Columbia Gearheads, Main Street Columbia Inc.’s Candlelight, Carols and Claus, the Columbia Christmas Village and a sampling of artists working on projects at Artwistic Revolution’s annual Christmas open house.
“I think all of this weekend’s events were really a success,” Main Street Director Nik Ingram said. “The different events brought a lot of people out. There were a lot of happy folks downtown this weekend. The lights downtown looked great from the Post Office and Citizens Bank all the way down to the Marion County Courthouse.”
Ingram said even the newest of the events was a success.
“The Christmas Village was very successful,” he said. “We will even have more vendors and a live band out this weekend. Santa will be back and it will be bigger and better this weekend.
The Columbia Christmas Village is open from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. Saturday off Main Street near the Post Office.
Kiwanis Parade Chairman Charrie Berard echoed Ingram’s sentiments.
“Wow!” she said. “The 2017 Christmas Parade was a huge success. It was such a great parade. We had so many super heroes. I loved all of the designs.”
Winners in the float competition included:
• First place, 6U All-Stars World Series Champions float
• Second place, Grace Baptist Church
• Third place, Mack Grubbs Motors
• Honorable mentions, Quality Flooring, the CPS Treble Makers, Next Level Tumble and Cheer and Tease Salon.
“The train was awesome (winning float),” Berard said. “How many times can a fellow Marion County native say they saw a train coming down Mississippi 13? I know that it took a lot of manhours to have such a great turn out. Sometimes, we get lost in all of the hectic holiday shopping, but we should always take time to take part in the things that make us unique. I love living here because everyone shows up to make things special.”
Berard thanked the volunteers that made the parade possible.
“Thank you so much from the Kiwanis of Columbia for your participation in making children’s smiles and eyes glow with excitement for the approaching Christmas season,” she said. “Ok, so there weren’t only children smiling and eyes glowing, we were too as adults. I have had the honor of chairing the committee for the Christmas Parade for two years; I look forward to an even larger parade next year. I also want to take a moment to thank each person who served on the Christmas Parade Committee. It takes everyone working together as the great team we are in the Kiwanis Club to have this event, and I am definitely not a one-woman team. If you aren’t a member of the Kiwanis of Columbia and want to join, we would love to have you. We would also love to have you on the Christmas Parade committee.”
Berard also thanked the Columbia High School Key Club and all the marching bands from the schools that were represented.
Saturday afternoon’s Cruise-in drew more than 70 vehicles and helped collect toys for the Kiwanis Club’s annual Christmas for Kids program.
Rodney Crawley’s Chevelle won the People’s Choice Award, and Mitch Welch and Billy Dement had their restored vehicles win the Walmart Choice Awards.
“A large thank you to all who came out to the Cruise-In,” Maria Stringer of the Columbia Gearheads said. “We had an amazing showing of some beautiful cars, trucks and bikes that were parked on Main Street. The toy drive as a great success, too. I’m not sure of the total number of toys donated, but the bin was full.”
Pictured Above: Super Heroes from the winning float in the Kiwanis Club of Columbia’s annual Christmas Parade were from the World Series Champion Columbia 6u All-Star baseball team. The team’s train was a favorite of the judges last Friday night. | Photo by Mark Rogers