L-Dub Santa aiming to deliver smooth procession at holiday parade Saturday
Hundreds of 'Celebrating in Toyland' participants on foot, on bikes and in cars will start moving at 6 p.m. downtown in what organizers hope will be a continuous line without gaps and delays
Santa Claus is coming to town this weekend. He’s scheduled to arrive Saturday night aboard an antique fire truck in the annual Lake Worth Beach Holiday parade downtown.
The Big Guy will be among the hundreds of elves, carolers, dancers and grinches on foot, bicycles, golf carts, classic cars and trucks in a festive procession starting at 6 p.m.
“Celebrating in Toyland,” the theme of the city’s 59th holiday parade, will feature 58 groups, schools, businesses and civic organizations along with 27 floats. The emcees will be Greg Rice and Lindy White.
The parade will take the same route as previous holiday processions, starting on Lucerne Avenue at Federal Highway and heading west to South J Street where it turns left and then heads east on Lake Avenue.
But there will be one significant change this year: The main performing area where parade groups stop to dance or sing for judges will be near the end of the route, on Lake Avenue in front of Too Jays restaurant.
Performances will be limited to one minute. Or at least that’s the goal.
Last year, the performance area was on Lucerne near the start of the route. Some performances lasted longer than others, creating gaps in the procession that led many spectators on Lake Avenue to wonder if the parade had ended.
“It’s hard to wrap up some children doing a dance ensemble when they’re going overtime,’’ said Stuart Sword, the city’s assistant director of leisure services. “But we fixed that. We flipped the performance area.’’
The new staging area will have extra lighting.
The route will be lined with French barricades to prevent parade watchers from wandering into the streets.
In past years, parade participants have tossed candy and treats to the crowd. But this year, they’ve been encouraged to make hand-to-hand contact when giving goodies to parade watchers.
And in response to a directive from the North Pole, organizers have asked parade participants to limit any Santa garb they were thinking of wearing to red hats only. Full red suits are ho-ho-no-no.
The idea is to prevent multiple St. Nick surrogates from flooding the streets and stealing the Big Guy’s thunder.
“The official city Santa will be riding on a historic fire truck,’’ Sword said.
🧑🎄 To prepare everyone for the parade, L-Dub Santa and his elves on the avenues want to share these important details and maps: (Keep scrolling…) 🛷
The Americans with Disabilities Act Viewing Area will be at the southwest corner of South M Street and Lake Avenue.
🚧 Road Closure Notice 🚧
Starting at noon Saturday, the following streets will temporarily close until 30 minutes or so after the parade ends:
* Lake Avenue from North J Street to North Federal Highway
* Lucerne Avenue from South Federal Highway to North J Street
* North Federal Highway from Lucerne Avenue to 10th Avenue North, a 10-block stretch that will serve as the staging area for the parade groups.
Vehicles left parked on designated closed streets will be towed.
🅿️ Free Parking locations for the Holiday Parade
1. Parking Lot on 1st Ave S and S L St
- Parking Lot on 1st Ave S and S K St
- Parking Lot between L St and M St by 1st Ave S
2. City Hall - Parking Lot on N H St and Lucerne Ave also 1005 Lucerne Ave.
3. Hatch 1121 - 1121 Lucerne Ave
4. Bryant Park
💲 🅿️ Paid Parking
1. Bohemian Parking Garage on S. East Coast Street and Lake Ave: $2.50 per hour
The Lake Worth Bridge will remain open during the parade. Detour signs will direct vehicle traffic across the bridge.
