Main Street fills with revelers for annual Christmas parade
RAVENA-COEYMANS — Santa Claus isn’t coming to town — he’s already here!
Jolly old St. Nick paid an early visit to Ravena and Coeymans this weekend for the annual Christmas parade and tree lighting ceremonies, and Main Street was filled with revelers for the occasion Saturday night.
Cynthia La Plante brought her young daughter Izabella La Plante for a chance to get to visit with Santa Claus himself.
“She is very excited to come see Santa today,” Cynthia La Plante said. “She waits patiently for Santa during the parade, and she also likes the candy.”
The festivities started at Coeymans Landing where parade marchers lined up and the town of Coeymans tree was lit to kick off the holiday season. Then everyone headed up Main Street for the second event of the evening.
Hundreds of residents withstood the cold weather, lining the streets for a chance to catch a glimpse of the parade, which drew fire trucks, floats and marchers from various organizations, such as the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district, scouts, the VFW, elected officials, local businesses and more.
This year’s parade had more marchers and groups participating than previous years, according to Ravena Village Trustee Nancy Warner, but it was tough to put a precise number to it.
“They just kept coming and coming,” she said.
“I am thrilled that we have a lot more participants in the parade, which is great,” Warner added. “I hope every year it can continue to get bigger.”
Marchers and floats made their way up Main Street from Coeymans Landing, ending at the village’s Christmas tree at Veterans Memorial Park. Village Mayor Bill Misuraca welcomed the crowd.
“I am just amazed that every year this gets bigger and bigger,” Misuraca told the crowd. “Thank you all so much for the participation, coming out on this cold night. It’s truly awesome to see our community come together. Be kind to each other and have great holidays.”
Then Village Foreman Henry Traver was joined by a quartet of local youngsters in lighting up the village tree, as parade goers cheered.
Coeymans Town Supervisor Philip Crandall said the parade and tree lighting ceremony were a great way for everyone to celebrate the holidays together.
“Merry Christmas and happy New Year to everybody. I hope everyone is in good health,” Crandall said. “This is a great event, it brings people together. It’s just very festive and very nice, a great tradition in the village.”
After the tree lighting, everyone headed across the street to the Ravena firehouse to visit with Santa and enjoy egg nog, hot chocolate, donuts and other refreshments.
