I first heard about the Dominion Christmas Parade (Dominion Christmas Parade) from a lady on-line. She had attended for a couple years (back when it was the Ukrops Christmas Parade) and she raved about it. She said it was the "greatest local parade" she's ever seen. "A scaled down Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade," she exclaimed. Well, now I had to do a little more research on this parade. I found the official webpage and I was hooked. A 2 hour parade down West Broad St. with balloons, floats and bands? Sign me up! So, I put out an email, rounded up a group and we planned to go to the parade.
The day before we go I had dinner with LG and JK at The Halligan Bar (see The Halligan Bar post for my review) to firm up plans. Thankfully we did because I learned a very important piece of information: GET THERE EARLY!!! I was planning to be there about 9ish. Apparently that isn't early enough. LG said her co-worker suggested you be there way earlier. Between 7:30 and 8 to be exact. So, I agreed to be there at 8 and stake out our spot. Good choice on my end.
I got to Broad St. right about 8am. I posted up right across the street from the Arbys, right in front of the giant DMV building. There weren't many people on the street by this point, so I began to think that being here so early was foolish. I spread out my blanket, had an orange and waited. Slowly people began to fill the street. People began spreading out blankets, laying out chairs and taping off sections of the road. Once the lady busted out the caution tape, I knew this was serious. JK, MK and the boys showed up around 9:30. By that point, the street was pretty packed. People were stacking up behind those of us who had curb-side seating. LG and KW showed up about 9:45 with homemade muffins and mimosas. Well done girls. Quick side note, the DMV building and Arbys were both open for the public to use the bathrooms. We all got settled and waited for the 10am kick-off. Be prepared for the rest of this post to be photo heavy.
The parade was excellent. This years Master of Ceremonies was the Grinch. Unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of him. That disappoints me, but I suppose all my other photos make up for it. Next up came the giant Rudolph balloon. I heard he had a small leak last year, but he was good as new this year. He floated big and proud this year. I love that they have to gently ease each balloon under all of the traffic lights.
There were, of course, plenty of bands in the parade. Most of them were high school bands. Some were military. Then there were your random community organization band. All of them were great. They all played and sounded great. They were well organized and well trained. Kudos to all of them.
There were firemen, police and EMS, which is standard in every parade. Nice to see our service people representing. Sorry I only have firemen photos. They came out the best. The sun was not in my favor in regards to taking photos.
Oh hey, a naked version of Mighty Mouse... Or so I assume...
I think that my favorite part of the parade were the dance groups. I'm not talking about your Jimmy Dean School of dance kinda groups, granted there were a few of those and they were good. I'm talking about the Native American and Mexican dancers. Both groups were fascinating and had great great music. KW noted that "it's sad that Americans only bump and grind. We have no grace and class to our dance like these people do."
The Renaissance Fair people were in attendance. As was what is apparently a local Star Wars fan club. Even the Flying Squirrels baseball team mascot was spotted running around.
The parade wrap's up with the arrival of Santa. He came rolling in on his sled pulled by a slew of his reindeer. The kids all around us got super excited as he went past which is of course the reaction you want. Makes you feel good about the holiday season.
I highly recommend making this parade part of your families future Christmas tradition. It's about 2 hours long and packed with plenty of cool stuff. Remember to get there early and bring chairs as the ground gets uncomfortable after awhile. I also suggest a small cooler full of snacks. If you want to have some mimosas or maybe some Irish coffee I recommend pre-mixing and bringing them with. Take your time getting back to your car after. Traffic is kinda rough, so there is no need to rush. Go, enjoy yourself and thank me later.
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