Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
SHOW FINALE – Santa tosses candy to a youngster along the parade route. Instead of his traditional reindeer, the Thompson Falls Rural Fire District pulled Kris Kringle through town.
Frosty the Snowman makes an appearance atop of the Thompson Falls Volunteer Fire Department Truck at the Thompson Falls Christmas Parade.
KEEPING WARM – Members of the DanceXplosion show a few of their moves as they dance down Main Street in the parade.
Even 16-degree weather couldn't keep people from lining Thompson Falls' Main Street for the annual Christmas on Main Street Parade Saturday night.
Fifty colorfully decorated units slowly moved through the city with Grand Marshal Annie Wooden leading the pack. Kids were at the ready with an assortment of bags for candy collecting. There were 50 units in the parade, the most since 2009, when Joanne Burk started coordinating the annual event, and possibly the most since it began more than 20 years ago.
"They went above and beyond this year and that made it truly amazing," said Burk of the amount of work people put into their entries. The top honor, the People's Choice Award, went to XR Rentals, which received a $100 award, complements of the Men's Prayer Breakfast. Burk said the entries were all beautifully decorated. The majority of the entries were from Thompson Falls, but she did have a couple from Plains, including Smokey Bear from the Plains-Thompson Falls Ranger District in Plains. Most of the entries were in vehicles, but one of the few walking groups were the youth of the DancXplosion, which was also one of the winners in the $100 drawing.
"We had some new ones in the parade this year and that brought some good new energy," said Burk. A man a three-wheeled motorcycle asked her just before the parade started how he could be in the parade. She told him to just jump in with the rest of them. The Men's Prayer Breakfast also donated $100 for each of the random drawings, which included the Sanders County Book Mobile, Scrappy Green Truck, Thompson Falls City Fire Department, and the Open Door Baptist Church.
Burk guessed that more than 200 people came out for this year's parade, which was one of the coldest in recent years. "I love doing this," said Burk, who added that she appreciated those who participated in the parade and plans to coordinate it again next year. "I was so excited and so pleased of the community participation in the parade," said Burk. "And the crowd was amazing and so supportive," she said.
The parade took about 45 minutes to pass through town with a traditional Kris Kringle as the show's finale. Kringle was dressed in old world green Santa apparel. Burk said his true identity was not revealed, except that he is a Sanders County resident and is a certified Santa.
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