With the advent of December, Christmas parades soon will roll through several North County communities.
Lompoc’s annual Children’s Christmas Season Parade starts at 6 p.m. Friday, with participants assembling at 4:30 p.m. at the corner of Pine Avenue and H Street.
The hour-long parade travels south on H Street, turning west onto Ocean Avenue and south to I Street. Afterward, entrants and spectators are invited to Centennial Park, at the corner of Cypress and H streets for the announcement of winners as well as the lighting of the community Christmas tree and a chance to visit with Santa.
This year’s parade theme is “A Storybook Christmas.”
On Saturday, Santa Maria and Solvang will hold their parades.
Solvang’s Julefest Parade gets under way at 11 a.m. Saturday. The parade originates at Solvang Veterans Hall, 1745 Mission Drive, travels west on Mission Drive (Highway 246), turns left on Fourth Place, turns left (east) on Copenhagen Drive, and ends on Alisal Road near the post office.
Chef Bethany Markee was named grand marshal of the Solvang parade, organizers announced recently. Markee, food service director at Solvang School, led the innovative, award-winning farm-to-cafeteria lunch program at the school.
The parade is part of the community’s Julefest celebration, which includes a Friday tree-lighting ceremony and culminates with the community Christmas tree burn on Jan. 9.
The Santa Maria Parade of Lights rolls up Broadway between Stowell Road and Main Street, starting at 5:20 p.m. Saturday.
The parade is organized by the four Rotary Clubs of Santa Maria Valley and Nipomo. The clubs banded together to take on the leadership after the parade wasn’t held in 1994.
The theme, “The Joy of Giving,” reflects the goal of gathering food donations for The Salvation Army. Both spectators and participants are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to drop in donation bins place along the parade route.
Last year, parade organizers renamed the food drive after its longtime leader, Paul Teixeira, a Nipomo Rotarian and San Luis Obispo County supervisor who died of a heart attack in June 2013.
Sunday’s Buellton Winter Fest will include a mobile light parade, starting at 6 p.m. at Jonata School and ending at Avenue of Flags for a tree-lighting ceremony.
The day begins early as children are invited to Breakfast with Santa in the morning and concerts, food trucks, beer, wines and snow are planned for late afternoon.
The 53rd Old Town Orcutt Christmas Parade is set for noon Dec. 13, rain or shine.
Click here for entry forms or click here. The parade route travels through Old Town Orcutt.
Guadalupe’s annual parade will begin at 6 p.m. Dec. 13 and will travel along Guadalupe Street (Highway 1), culminating with the lighting of the community Christmas tree.
The Guadalupe Kiwanis Club organizes the annual procession, which this year will have the theme of “Peace, Love and Hope Around the World.”
Parades aren’t the only way North County communities will mark the holiday season. In Los Olivos, the town will host an Olde Fashioned Christmas from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.