Parade of Lights Saturday evening
WORLAND – Many people enjoy driving around the streets of town in the evening looking at all the houses decorated with Christmas lights. Saturday evening instead of driving around people are encouraged to view the annual Parade of Lights, a Worland tradition, which begins at 6 p.m. and runs from 20th street to Railway Avenue with floats decorated by businesses, organizations, individuals, clubs and churches.
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WORLAND – Many people enjoy driving around the streets of town in the evening looking at all the houses decorated with Christmas lights. Saturday evening instead of driving around people are encouraged to view the annual Parade of Lights, a Worland tradition, which begins at 6 p.m. and runs from 20th street to Railway Avenue with floats decorated by businesses, organizations, individuals, clubs and churches.
Traditionally the Parade of Lights was on Black Friday every year, but the number of floats in 2015, 10, caused the Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce to change the date of the parade to the same weekend as the Festival of Trees for 2016, in hopes of not only making the Parade of Lights bigger and better but also to support the Festival of Trees and other events occurring the same weekend.
It’s a tradition but so many people are tired after Thanksgiving, they have family coming to visit, they are cleaning house, they are worried about food, they are not in any position to worry about making a float, Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jenn Rasmussen explained. “When I started, looking at the number of parades and volunteers and what was going on, I had so many people cancel to volunteer with the floats and stuff. ‘This is my family time; I don’t have time to help with the floats. It’s my family time; I don’t have time to help with the parade. I’m never in town for the parade’ and the float numbers kept going down and down. It was getting to the point of not having the parade anymore. What happens to tradition if the parade gets canceled because there aren’t enough floats?” Rasmussen added.
That change saved the parade and in 2016 there were 25 floats with the same amount expected Saturday evening. “We are trying to keep the parade alive. I had so many people last year that were so excited because this was their first time; they’ve lived here for years and haven’t been able to see the parade. They were like, ‘This is so cool, I finally get to see it, finally get to be a part of it because I am not out of town or busy with family,’” Rasmussen said. “I had a lot of people from out of town say ‘There are lot of things going on that weekend, I’m excited, I can finally come down because it’s not on a holiday weekend.’ They come down and go to the Festival of Trees, do a little shopping and hang around for the parade. That’s really what we want to see, people not just from here, but people from all over the area coming and supporting Festival of Trees, the parade and everything else that is going on,” she added.
Before the parade in Pioneer Square Santa will be visiting with children from 4 – 5:30 p.m. and the Girl Scouts will be serving hot chocolate and cookies. The shop local stocking drawing will also be in Pioneer Square at 5 p.m.
“For the whole week [Nov. 24 through 4 p.m. Dec. 2] if you spend $20 or more at a participating local business your name gets thrown into a drawing for the stockings filled with gift certificates and small items donated by local businesses,” Deb Larkin said. According to the Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce, $1,000 in gift certificates has been donated and first-, second- and third-place prize winners will receive a portion of the gift certificates.
CHILI FEED
There will be a chili feed at Reese and Rays IGA from 5 – 6:30 p.m. with the proceeds going to Worland’s Largest Baby Shower sponsored by the Grace Chapel Community Church.
