Though it wasn’t really cold enough to snow, it almost felt like it, and that provided a fitting backdrop for the Saturday, Dec. 6 Christmas on Main celebration in Escalon.
With a full slate of events from mid-afternoon continuing on through the evening, a huge crowd turned out to enjoy the festivities.
From nearly non-stop entertainment on the Main Street stage to the wide variety of vendor booths set up in the park, a food court, fire pits for roasting s’mores and the traditional holiday light parade, there was something for everyone.
Members of the Escalon Fire Department also got into the spirit, taking part in a ‘snowball’ fight downtown, with faux snow falling for a portion of the celebration.
A main feature of the parade was the arrival of Santa Claus, who rode in his sleigh and was accompanied this year by several elves as the tow vehicle pulled the sleigh as the final parade entry. The parade also included recognition for Grand Marshal Pat Brown, who serves as the Escalon Chamber of Commerce president. The Chamber is the primary sponsor of Christmas on Main, pulling the event together. The Chamber also had its booth in the park, with a number of raffle items available, with proceeds supporting its ‘Giving Trees’ initiative to provide gift certificates for local families in need during the holidays.
The Lions Club was in attendance with hot chocolate and cookies, there was face painting, button making, plenty of merchandise booths for some holiday shopping and multiple options for dinner at the food court.
Many floats in the parade were all decked out in holiday finery, trimmed with lights, and ranged from an entry by Mercy Spring Ranch to Miss Escalon and her court riding on a float with Little Miss and Little Mr. Escalon. The American Legion presented the colors, the Bracco and Rissetto families had their traditional stuffed animal giveaway, a trailer filled with them that they provided to children lining the parade route on both sides of Main Street.
Chamber vice president Jessica Wylie said it seemed to be the largest turnout of the past several years, and some changes included having Santa Claus have his ‘meet and greet’ with youngsters set up in The Shoppe on Main Street, where they could have their photo taken with him, along with some special family-themed activities offered at the library.
Overall, she said, it appeared to be a very successful event, with the crowd also taking advantage of the opportunity to roast some marshmallows to make s’mores following the parade, listening to the holiday tunes provided on stage.
