Holiday parade attracts thousands

    The 2008 Holiday Light Parade held on Saturday evening was declared a wonderful success. Police Chief Butch Asselin stated that the crowd numbered nearly 3,000 as children and adults alike waited for the arrival of Santa Claus.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
TOYS FOR TOTS — The North Country Cruisers float was all decked out for Houlton’s annual light parade. Their float’s theme gave a message to all spectators about the need to donate toys for their annual Cruiz in for Kids toy drive.  The club donates the toys to local charities. If you would like to help support this cause please drop a new toy off at the following locations; Yorks’ of Houlton, the Houlton Chamber of Commerce, Beals’ Variety in Market Square, or 1-95 Food Trend. For more information call Tim McAtee at 532-8692.
    Volunteers were busy making the town a Winter Wonderland throughout the day. A Disney scene donated for the evening by Priscilla and Carl Lord drew the wee ones while the warming drums donated by Peter Fitzpatrick and music by Tim the Tune Man kept the crowd warm and entertained.
    Once downtown Santa visited with children who shared their Christmas wishes with him and then slid down to their parents. It was an enjoyable time for all who attended the event.
    The Chamber is busily preparing for the Gingerbread House Contest! The creations will be displayed at RE/MAX Central located at 76 Main Street through Friday, Dec. 5. The judging will take place from 6 until 8 p.m., Friday evening. The public is invited and encouraged to view the masterpieces.
    During the week of Dec. 8 judges will be traveling to businesses and homes of those who entered the Business and Home Decorating contests. Once the judging is done, the locations of the entrants will be published so that all can enjoy the creativity of those who participated.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
MODERN DAY SANTA — Santa rode in style on a colorful Arctic Cat snowmobile in Houlton’s Light Parade Saturday night. There were between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators along the parade route.
    It’s not too late to enter in the contests! Call the Chamber today and register at 532-4216.
    The Chamber wishes to thank each and every person who contributed and helped create an evening of wonderment and excitement. Special thanks to Darlene and Pete Kenney who provided the place for Santa to sit and to James and Amanda Folsom for the great slide that worked without a hitch. The efforts of those who participated with floats, vehicles and a unicycle were amazing and very much appreciated by the many on-lookers.
    The 2008 Holiday Light Parade winners for floats are: First place, Chadwick’s Florist and the Winslow Family for the Gingerbread House float; second place, Heather Clark for Penguins; and third place for, Houlton Power Sports, Santa on the snowsled.
    The non-float winners are, Mike Marshall for the Snowman and church; second place, Homeland Security for the Custom’s truck and the miniature Santa; and third place, the Houlton Fire Department.
    Cameron Clark was awarded a first place for his uni-cycle, in the non-vehicle division.Houlton Pioneer Times photo/Elna Seabrooks
DEAR SANTA — Twins Oliver, left, and Benjamin Thurston told Santa Claus what they hope he will leave them for Christmas when they went to the Houlton Christmas parade. But, Santa remarked that Benjamin’s list of wishes was a bit longer than Oliver’s. Hope the boys are being very, very good.