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Thanksgiving Day Parade In Laurel Ridge

11/23/2023

“It’s a beautiful Thanksgiving Day here in Laurel Ridge, Sally, and we’re ready to kick off the holiday season with a spectacular parade.” Megaman was in his superhero uniform, sitting at the review stand in front of City Hall with local news anchor, Sally Dollenkamp.

“It sure is, Megaman. Here to get us started, we have the Laurel Ridge High School Marching Band.”

“Ryan, can you do me a favor?” Earl put an arm around his shoulders.

“Sure, boss. What do you need?”

“Head down to the park with Stan and Bob. They’re going to make sure the sites are ready for the vendor wagons after the parade.”

“You bet.” Ryan peeled off in search of the others.

Jeb sat in front of the bakery in a folding chair, listening to Paul on the public speakers. He wasn’t a fan of crowds, but with a parade, he figured he could deal with it for a few hours. He unscrewed the lid of his thermos and poured a cup of coffee. “Want some?”

Aundrea shook her head. “I’m good.”

“Sure are.” He smiled as he sipped the piping hot brew.

“The brave men and women of Laurel Irish Fire Brigade, folks! Let’s hear some noise for our local heroes!”

Megaman pumped his fist. The fire engines blew their horns, ran their sirens and engaged their spinning lights.

“Thank you for your service to the community, Laurel Irish Fire Brigade!” Sally waved. “Oh, look, Megaman. It’s a regional favorite coming.”

“The Jingle Bell Jubilee wouldn’t be complete without Dumbrauskas’ Blinis, Sally. I like mine with Crème Fraîche. How about you?”

Sarah was rushing around with a clipboard tucked under her arm. “Oh, good. You guys are here.”

“Yeah, honey.” Bob said. “What’s up?”

“Can we get one last check on the cords? If somebody plugs in and they don’t have electricity, they’re going to freak.”

“Sure. Hey, Stan. You take that aisle. Ryan, that one. I’ll check the middle.”

“Thanks. Is the tree all set?”

“Sure, we got it all dolled up. No sweat.”

“Did anyone tell Paul how to set it in the stand?”

“Yeah, yeah. We did a dry run before we decorated it. He came in real early so nobody would see us. I’m going to go check these cords. Okay?”

She bit her lip and nodded. The walkie-talkie squawked at her. “Carol?”

“Everything good at the park?”

“We’re doing one last cord check before the vendors get here. Did we leave enough space for the band near the tree?”

“Yes, I hadn’t accounted for the size of his feet when he’s thirty feet tall. We flagged off enough space for him to get around the tree without stepping on any of the kids.”

Sarah stared at the walkie in horror.

“For more Christmas cheer, we’ve got the American Legion Brass Band, Megaman.” Sally swayed along to the holiday medley.

“We thank these honored veterans for their service and for their contribution to today’s festivities.” Megaman waved.

“How are we looking?” Bob rubbed his hands together and blew into them.

“Mine all checked out.” Stan said. “I’m going to look in on the topper.”

“Alright. How about you, pal?”

“I’ve got a dud about halfway down the aisle. Do we have a spare on the truck?”

“Yeah, go unplug the bad one and I’ll bring you a spare.” Bob patted him on the sleeve.

Ryan headed back to the site where he’d found the dead cord. He spotted Sarah staring at him. ‘Get back to work, red. Nothing to see here.’ His jaw tightened.

Brendan and Trilby set up chairs on either side of Jeb and Aundrea. Jeb got up and shook hands with his cousin. “What kept you?”

“Parade traffic.” Brendan shrugged. “Go figure.”

Jeb smiled and sat back down. The middle school marching band was just passing by to a basic drum beat. Looked like they were going to save their Christmas music for the review stand.

Carol was pacing around behind the review stand, keeping an eye on the TV and radio people. Her walkie-talkie squawked. “Sarah?”

“Bob says everything is ready over here. They had to replace a cord for the funnel cake site, but everything else is good.”

“Great, thanks for taking care of that. The parade is almost over. I’ll be up after the last float goes by.”

“Roger Wilco, over and out.”

Carol shook her head at the walkie and chuckled. The last float was Santa’s sleigh. Once it got to City Hall, Megaman would put on an ugly Christmas sweater and a Santa hat. He and Sally would join Santa on his sleigh and ride it to the park for the tree raising.

Polling showed that a giant Santa would be both confusing and potentially traumatic for the children of Laurel Ridge. As long as it was clear that it was Megaman with some holiday attire, they would be better with it.

She strode out to the street to count the remaining entries. She could see Santa’s sleigh a few blocks down.

“Hi, Santa!” Trilby yelled. “Throw me some candy!”

“You’re already sweet enough.” Brendan called down to her.

“Aw…” Trilby’s eyes teared up. “He’s so great.”

Aundrea rolled her eyes. “Fold up your chair. We’ll put them in the bakery and pick them up on the way out.”

“What are we doing?”

“Once Santa goes by, we’ll follow the parade to the park. Paul is going to stand the big tree up and put the star on top.”

“Ooh, that’s fun.”

“Yeah, while all that’s going on, the vendors will get themselves set up. Carol’s idea of Christmas magic.”

“Count me in for funnel cake.” Trilby folded her chair up and slid it back into the matching sleeve.

Brendan was sliding his chair into its sleeve. “How did Paul’s rehearsal go?”

“It was interesting. We kept having to move the flags back.” Jeb folded his chair.

“What flags?”

“The ones the band will need to stand behind to keep from getting stepped on.”

“Ew.” Brendan shuddered. “I guess it stands to reason a guy thirty feet high has pretty big feet.”

Jeb smirked. “Safety first.”

“And the moment we’ve all been waiting for…” Megaman pointed to the float with Santa’s sleigh. He held the microphone out toward the crowd to catch the sounds of children yelling for Santa.

“And the moment I’ve been waiting for, Megaman.” Sally said as she handed him a box wrapped in Christmas paper. “Try it on.”

Megaman walked out in front of the review stand to open his present. He tore into the gift wrap and handed it to Sally as he checked what was inside the box.

A cheer arose from the crowd as he held up a ridiculously garish Christmas sweater. He slid it over his superhero costume and stuck the Santa hat on his head, posing and mugging for the crowd. He offered his hand to help Sally onto the float, and they joined Santa in his sleigh for the last leg of the parade.

Carol joined the crowd walking behind Santa’s float as the parade made its way to the park. Santa, Sally and Megaman continued waving as the parade-goers fell in behind the parade.

“He’s a real character, isn’t he?” Trilby appeared at Carol’s side.

“He sure is. I’m glad he was able to come. Wait until you see the finale.”

“Jeb said something about him putting up the tree. That should be interesting.”

As the parade wound down, the vendors pulled into their spots. Stan, Bob and Ryan would help them set up and Sarah would run through a short checklist to ensure each trailer was chocked, leveled and provided with electricity and water.

By the time Santa arrived with Sally and Megaman by his side, the park was transformed into a Christmas market and carnival.

They had combined the marching bands into a massive orchestra awaiting the arrival of Santa and his guests.