The 100-entry 28th annual Festival of Lights Parade is ready to roll at 6 p.m. Saturday in downtown Columbus.
Half of this year’s parade entries are first timers, higher than normal, organizers said.
“It can be so much work to put together a float,” said Joyce Lucke, part of JAKKS Inc., the nonprofit agency that organizes the parade. “So I think that, sometimes, some of the people who’ve been in it for years can get a little burned out.”
The event still attracts 7,000 to 10,000 people — and an old rule of thumb still applies: the warmer the weather, the bigger the crowd, she said.
That explains last year’s heavy turnout in 50-degree surroundings, with viewers standing five and six people deep near Eighth and Washington streets.
Saturday’s forecast calls for a daytime high of 57 degrees — about 10 degrees warmer than normal — and a low of 43 with occasional rain, according to Accuweather.
For a preview of the Festival of Lights parade, and more holiday activities on Saturday, see Tuesday’s Republic.
