Word on the

Street

Ho ho ho…. Santa does love Sumner. Or at least he loves a parade in Sumner. And he’s not the only one. Thousands of people lined the streets of Sumner Saturday from the downtown railroad tracks to the high school where the parade started.

Now there are lots of great entries in the parade, but one of my favorites is the Sumner High School award-winning marching band with cheerleaders, flag, drill and dance teams. It’s easy to see why they have collected so many trophies and awards for their performances. Not only do they look sharp, march in step and keep straight lines, band director, Joe Karl, knows how to choose parade songs that make you tap your feet and put a big grin on your face. And in Sumner, not only do you get to see them in the parade, you can also see them practicing on the streets downtown earlier in the week. It’s like something out of the Broadway musical “The Music Man.” I have to agree with the folks who say the school marching band is one of the many great things about our town.

But there were many other great entries in our Santa Parade. Like the Sumner community float and the Daffodil Festival float, various cub scout packs, several entries representing Sumner School District, local churches, antique cars and tractors, drill team units, the Bonney Lake High School marching band, dance school entries, lots of snowmen, elves and reindeer. Well to be honest, I’m pretty sure those were dogs and small ponies wearing antlers, but I think they were counting on parade goers to have vivid imaginations.

One of the things I really like about Sumner’s parades is the sense of community. It’s easy to meet someone you know every few feet if you’re walking from one end of town to the other. Some are there to see family and friends participating in the parade, and some are there as part of a family tradition and attend the parade every year as part of their holiday festivities. And though I’ve seen this camaraderie at all downtown parades, the Santa Parade really brings out the smiles in everyone. I don’t know if it’s seeing so many people in red and white Santa hats, the sound of Christmas carols, or just knowing that Santa will be the last entry in the parade on the old Kenworth fire truck with Mayor Dave Enslow and his family. And this year we had the treat of seeing Deputy Mayor, Leroy Goff, named as the parade grand marshall in a bright red Sunset Chevrolet truck handing out candy to downtown visitors.

So if you are new to town, or have visitors in for the holidays, make sure downtown is one of your destinations. Our last scheduled event is the Christmas Stroll from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and the Four Tunes barbershop quartet will be downtown singing at noon for several hours. They’re just one more reason people like to spend some time in Sumner.