NSBNews.net videos and photos by Sera Frederick / Here are exclusive highlights of Saturday's 2011 New Smyrna Beach Christmas parade. Below, Dezi the dog, adorned in a Christmas hat, anticipates the parade's arrival.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Ivanna Trump wasn't the only celebrity in the city Saturday for the array of holiday festivities. So too were Dezi and Lucy, a pair of dogs, that is, roaming the sidewalks of Canal Street with their owner, Rhonda O'Ryordan, while awaiting the start of the New Smyrna Beach Christmas Parade.
After all, everyone loves a parade, especially one with police sirens, the sound of marching bands, the colorful floats, and of course, parade marchers shouting out "Merry Christmas!"
That was the scene with New Smyrna Beach's parade. The 4 p.m. parade began on the beachside and snaked its way down Flagler Avenue and across the North Causeway Bridge and onto Riverside Drive. From there it turned onto Canal Street and ended at the New Smyrna Beach City Hall on Sams Avenue.
People lined both sides of Canal, a scene all the way along the parade route except a portion of Riverside Drive on the side front the Intracoastal Waterway.
The parade ended with darkness setting in with big gaps caused by the intermittent opening and closing of the South Causeway draw bridge, but at least by the time the city's Santa float carried the rear, parade followers were able to see its beautiful lights.
The grand marshall for the parade was Lois Tipton. The elected officials -- Mayor Adam Barringer and Commissioners Jim Hathaway, Jack Grasty, Lynne Plaskett and Judy Reiker rode aboard a city fire truck. Police Chief Ron Pagano was in an SUV with his young son and other guests.
Advertisement
