San Benito residents turn out in numbers for downtown
celebration
While Hollister’s claim to fame with outsiders is the
Independence Day Motorcycle Rally, it is another downtown
celebration that draws locals in numbers.
San Benito residents turn out in numbers for downtown celebration
While Hollister’s claim to fame with outsiders is the Independence Day Motorcycle Rally, it is another downtown celebration that draws locals in numbers.
Families started gathering along San Benito Street as early as 3:30 p.m. Nov. 24, with folding chairs. Some brought along a portable dinner of pizza or sandwiches. The early arrivals got the best seats in the house for the annual “Lights On” parade and celebration. By 4:30 p.m., they’d filled up the sidewalks and started to spill out into the intersections.
As the sun set, residents decked out in scarves and ski caps clutched cups of hot cocoa and coffee. After hours of waiting in anticipation for some in the downtown crowd, members of the San Benito Stage Company roused the crowd decked out as the villains and heroes from fairytale stories starting at 5 p.m.
The parade started right on time with Jaimie the elf lighting up the trees along San Benito Street. After the American Legion members marched by, the San Benito Bank float led the parade. Staff members had been working on the float for a week in the alleyway outside their office, spray painting bits and pieces for the decor. They took over the public parking lot in the middle of Sixth Street between Monterey and San Benito streets the morning of the parade to assemble the float with the help of family members. When it was all put together, the float included a banquet table and elegant Christmas decorations. Children blew bubbles into the crowd from atop the flatbed.
Next a group of motorcyclists rode past with their helmets and bikes decked out in Christmas lights. Later in the parade, a group of riders passed on sport bikes from Faultline Powersports.
Groups in the parade included local businesses, schools, nonprofits and youth sports leagues. West Coast Music and Dance FX rigged up a float stable enough for the older dancers from the studio to turn and twist to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” on the moving platform. Younger dancers followed behind the float and danced along through the streets.
The floats that drew the greatest cheers from the crowd included the Rabobank float, which featured Elvis singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” The Integrated Waste Management float included two outhouses and brought laughs from the observers who wondered aloud whether the outhouses were clean. The big cheers came for go-carts that had been transformed into mini-dump trucks that raced around the float.
The Rancho Maze Band marched in the parade, playing “Frosty the Snowman” as they passed the intersection of Sixth and San Benito streets. After the parade, the student musicians gathered in the cordoned off block of Sixth Street and played Christmas carols for the crowd. While some watched, others headed to the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets for the culmination of the celebration. Santa Claus had arrived in Hollister and families lined up for a photo with him to start the holiday season.
