Parades get set to light up the streets

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Clovis' annual Christmas parade set for 6 p.m. Saturday

James Earl Jones might've picked a seasick crocodile over the Grinch in 1966 (who's also a crooked jerky jockey and drives a crooked hoss, he added), but Clovis is welcoming the Grinch with all of Whoville to parade down Main Street on Saturday night.

Clovis MainStreet Director Lisa Pellegrino-Spear said she hopes the Grinch doesn't steal Christmas — or the parade, for that matter.

“Hopefully he'll just steal hearts, and hopefully his will grow, too, with all of our community support,” she said.

The parade's theme this year — if you haven't guessed — is “A Very Merry Grinch-mas in Whoville.”

The ClovisMain Street organization, which orchestrates the event along with Xcel Energy, let the public decide the theme this year by putting it to a vote on Facebook, Pellegrino-Spear said.

Clovis' Christmas Light Parade has been a holiday tradition for the town for at least 20 or 30 years, Pellegrino-Spear estimated. Last year, the parade's attendance may have been an all-time high with 6,000 lined up down Main Street, she said.

“I think that it's Clovis' largest parade we have through the year, and the most anticipated because it's a huge family fun event,” Pellegrino-Spear said. “It captures the hearts of people from 2 to 92.”

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ernie Kos said an estimated 15,000 lights will adorn Main Street and floats in the parade on Saturday. Kos is anticipating around 100 floats to participate.

Pellegrino-Spear said last year's parade had around 65 entries.

“I think the Christmas Light Parade really kicks off the holiday season,” Kos said. “Everyone seems all geared up for it, and a lot of other things are going on that night, too.”

Clovisites in attendance can expect to see a wide variety of floats, Kos said. On Wednesday, the chamber was a “revolving door” of last-minute entries, she said.

“We have people that participate, organizations from all over our region,” Pellegrino-Spear said. “It's a great opportunity for businesses to be seen in front of our greater community. It gives them opportunity to market to people that wouldn't necessarily see them as well. It's just a fantastic community, family friendly event.”

She's also hoping the weather won't be as chilly this weekend as it was over the Thanksgiving holiday. So far, meteorologists are predicting fair temperatures with no precipitation, she said.

“Fingers crossed it will be as good as we've had this week,” she added.

Area Christmas parades

Friday

Portales — 6:30 p.m., town square

Saturday:

Clovis — 6 p.m., Main Street

Muleshoe — 6 p.m. (CST), Main Street