Fans of the 29th Annual Festival of Lights Parade will get an extra kick out of the festivities at this year’s event at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 in downtown Columbus.
Indy Eleven pro soccer squad co-captain Matt Watson, team mascot Zeke, the Indy Eleven Live Mascots, mastiff dogs Victor and Victoria, and perhaps other team members will be featured during the nearly mile-long 100-entry procession mostly on Washington Street.
The group from the team will be on one of the event’s two professional floats from Creative Floats near Cleveland, Ohio, according to Parade Marshal Joyce Lucke. Santa occupies the other professional float.
The gathering attracts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people along the route, according to organizers with the nonprofit agency JAKKS Inc.
That doesn’t count an estimated 2,000 or more usually attending the free Christmas Village festivities — children’s games, activities and a city employee gingerbread house contest — in The Commons at 300 Washington St. from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
And QMIX Christmas Music Fireworks, choreographed to holiday music broadcast on QMIX Radio at 107.3 FM, are scheduled to be presented at 7:30 p.m. near Second and Washington streets.
Dorel Juvenile Group USA is the presenting sponsor of the parade. Along with Dorel, several other companies have joined the parade’s sponsorship, according to Lucke.
“This year, the business community has really stepped up,” Lucke said.
Any funds not used to operate the parade by JAKKS are donated to charities identified by the volunteers who give their time on parade day. In previous years, the parade committee has made donations to organizations that directly benefit programs such as Bartholomew County’s Shop with a Cop, the Columbus Chinese School, and Columbus Homeless Independence and Resiliency Program, commonly called CHIRP.
Lucke said the parade’s entry list was full before Halloween and a waiting list now exists for others.
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What: 29th Annual Festival of Lights Parade traveling north on Washington Street from Third Street in downtown Columbus
When: 6 p.m. Dec. 7
Related events: Annual Christmas Village from 2 to 4:30 p.m. inside The Commons, 300 Washington St. Also, the QMIX Christmas Musical Fireworks are scheduled after the parade at about 7:30 p.m. at Second and Washington streets.
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For more information about this year’s Festival of Lights Parade, see Page A3.
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