Takin’ it to the Streets

Everybody loves a parade, they say, and Marco Island is certainly no exception.

On a beautiful, clear Saturday evening, thousands of people turned San Marco Road into a block party, lining the street several deep for the annual Christmas Island Style street parade. Cars decked out in multi-colored lights, marching bands from Lely High School, Marco Island Charter Middle School, and Golden Gate High School, floats and boats and church choirs delighted the crowd.

Many of the spectators were draped in almost as many Christmas lights as the parade entries, and cute kids along the parade route were magnets for candy and little stuffed animals handed out by passing marchers. Musicians, cheerleaders, and dancers made a point of putting on a little show as they came by the reviewing stand just before Barfield Dr., where the judges sat making lists, and probably checking them twice.

Judges Donna Niemczyk, Joni Stanutz, and city councilor Bonita Schwan had perhaps the most thankless job, choosing one of the entries from many in a given category. But the parade itself was the thing, more than the judges’ choices.

Numerous churches and civic organizations participated, including the San Marco Knights of Columbus, the Jewish Congregation of Marco Island, Wesley United Methodist Church, Marco Presbyterian Church, Marco Lutheran Church, Christ Community Church, and the Family Church.

Rose Marina handed out a dozen free shrimp to spectators as they passed in the shape of a token rather than the actual crustaceans, which is how they were costumed. Several snow machines blew massive quantities of sudsy “snow” into the air as they rolled past, giving the feel of a blizzard without the freezing temperatures.

And while this is the “street parade,” with a separate boat parade, there was no shortage of boats along San Marco Rd., including a replica submarine, and Sea Tow towing another smaller boat to remind everyone of what they do. There was even an airplane in the parade, representing Collier Mosquito Control District.

Marco Patriots not only marched, they had a booth near the reviewing stand, passing out free hot food, proving that disaster relief is welcome even without the necessity of a disaster.

The organizers, spearheaded by Christmas Island Style president Wanda Burson and parade chief wrangler Barbara Dasti, did an admirable job keeping the parade units following each other more tightly down the approximately one-mile route from Balfour to Barfield, without the long stretches of empty road that had bedeviled previous parades.

As is traditional, Santa and Mrs. Claus provided the finale of the parade, just like that other parade in front of Macy’s on Thanksgiving Day. This year, they rode on the bow of a boat, waving and beaming down at the crowd.

All the hoopla and extravaganza add up to one simple fact – Christmas is upon us!