NORWICH – The 18th annual Parade of Lights will kick off at 6:15 Saturday night, with 63 individual groups committed to illuminating Norwich’s streets. Nine fire trucks and 24 floats will be competing to be the greatest mobile light show Norwich has ever seen with the bedazzled audience members as the true winners. The full parade line up is extensive and can be found on Page 8 of today’s edition.
One new feature this year will be a group of around 150 marchers from NBT Bank.
“With everyone home for the holidays, we thought it would be nice to show how proud we are to be a part of the Norwich community,” said Pegi LoPresti from NBT’s marketing division. The NBT marchers will be broken up into five separate sections, representative of the five states the bank operates in. One hundred thirty-five of the NBT marchers will be holding electric candles and wearing santa hats to represent each of the bank’s individual branches. “We are proud supporters of all the communities we work in and this is a great chance for us to show our support of the Norwich community. I just think this is one of the best parades and I am always amazed by the amount of people who turn out. It’s a great family event with a long standing tradition,” she said.
The Norwich City Police Department, as always, will take an active role in the parade as well.
“This is a wonderful parade and one of the biggest public events in Norwich,” said Police Chief Joseph Angelino. “All police force members will be working some portion of the parade or the detour route.”
“We run a tight ship,” said lead parade organizer Mike McCormack of the Norwich Pennysaver. “People know they will not have to wait around; the floats start moving at 6:15 p.m., with the first one promptly passing the judges at 6:30, on the dot.”
Growing musical sensation, Nashville recording artist, and Norwich native Kaitlyn Jackson, will take center stage for the pre-parade entertainment. Jackson will begin serenading audience members at 5 p.m., from Gordon Park, and will continue to do so leading up to the launch of the parade.
During the parade, the Norwich Theater Company will keep the Christmas spirit alive with a selection of holiday carols, followed by a performance of “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” said McCormack, who added that – unlike last year – the weather is anticipated to be more in tune with the Christmas spirit and attendees may wish to don more seasonable clothing.
The Honorable W. Howard Sullivan and Chenango County Judge-elect Frank Revoir, Jr. have been chosen to be this year’s Grand Marshals, in honor of Judge Sullivan’s years of service as a great asset to the community, said McCormack.
As with every year, Santa Claus will be kicking off the holiday season during the parade, riding on the last fire truck and setting up camp in his igloo located in East Park. Parents will be able to bring their children to visit Santa and impart upon him the indispensable knowledge of what they expect to find under their Christmas trees this year.
“The Christmas Parade of Lights has been a long standing tradition, with large community support, kept alive year after year by the Pennysaver and The Evening Sun,” said McCormack.
“It’s a great event which has grown every year into an even more fantastic family event,” said Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo. “Everybody have fun, but please keep an eye out for the children and make sure they don’t run in front of the floats,” he added.