By Kimberly Gasuras
Excitement filled the air as the annual Santa Parade got underway in downtown Bucyrus Friday evening.
For the first time since the parade’s inception, the parade lined up on North Sandusky Avenue and headed south to Wendy’s.
“The parade has grown so much, we just did not have room for all of the parade units to line up at the south end of town,” said parade organizer, Carolynann Smith.
Bucyrus resident Ed Fuller brought his two children to the parade.
“I bring them every year to watch the Christmas parade,” said Fuller.
While Fuller’s daughter, 9-year-old Paris, said her favorite part of the parade is when Santa rides by, his son came to the parade for another reason.
“One of my friends is in the parade. She is in my class at school,” said 8-year-old Leland.
Wendy and Steve Ash participated in the parade with Kennedy Lane Salon with their dog, Max, who donned a sparkling red collar for the event.
“We did it last year and Max loved it and so did the kids. He loves all the attention when kids stop to pet him,” said Wendy as she, her husband and Max made their way to the parade line-up at Circle K.
Colonel Crawford student, Samantha Oroni, said the dogs in the parade were her favorites in the parade.
“They are so cute,” said Oroni.
It was only the second year Cassandra Wiparina came to the Santa Parade.
“It’s fun for the kids,” said the mom of two as she waited in the parade line-up with one of her daughters, Isis, who is a member of the Americettes Baton Corp.
Heidi Kaufman, the leader of the popular twirling group, said she enjoys the parade because it is at night.
“I like the fact that it is dark outside for this parade and we can break out things like the glow sticks on the batons. I enjoy daytime parades, too, but this one is really fun for the group to do,” said Kaufman.
Denise Turner said she has been bringing her children and grandchildren to the parade each year since it began many years ago.
“Every year, we come to the Little Athens Greek Restaurant to eat dinner then watch the parade,” said Turner. “It’s become a tradition for our family.”
Smith talked about another tradition before the parade began.
“Wanda Grasley and her family do a float every year in honor of her late husband, who loved Christmas. There are at least 4,000 lights just in the top of it,” said Smith.
Smith said it was hard to choose a parade marshal because there are so many good people in Bucyrus.
“This year, we chose Sue Logsdon because she has done so much for the Bucyrus community such as First Fridays. She is also a long-time business owner who is retiring soon,” said Smith of Logsdon, the owner of U Be Dazzled Boutique.
Smith said she is already starting to plan for next year’s Santa Parade.