Residents turn out for Holiday Dazzle parade

Hundreds of residents and visitors took advantage of the mild weather Friday evening by lining First Avenue for blocks to see the 2010 Holiday Dazzle on Main Parade in Jamestown.

Far from being the ugly cold predicted for the night, it turned out to be almost balmy, or at least as balmy as it gets this time of year in North Dakota.

“It’s nice if the weather cooperates,” parad watcher Ella Thoms said.

There were 41 parade entries, not counting eight fire trucks from the city and rural fire departments or the clowns’ vehicles zipping around them. Before they started the route up First Avenue, the floats and entries lined up in McElroy Park and a party-like atmosphere prevailed.

As the time got closer to 7 p.m. and the start of the parade, the excitement mounted. First Community Credit Union’s “Buddy the Elf” float featured lots of “elves” ready to move the party uptown.

One of the elves, Janna Bergstedt, said she was fairly new to FCCU’s holiday float-building activity. She was enjoying it along with the 20 to 25 other credit union employees involved. In the past, FCCU has most often been awarded Most Original. This year the float was awarded Mayor’s Choice.

Bergstedt said credit union employees pick a theme each year and go from there.

“It’s a great way to show we’re involved in the community,” she said.

It was FCCU employee Tamara Dallmann’s first time in the parade, she said. She was bouncing around in her elf costume saying it was a great way to keep her feet warm.

The Choralaires sat among the hay bales rehearsing the carols they entertained the parade goers with.

And then it was time to start along the parade route, with the clowns waving and shouting encouragement as the floats passed them by.

The clowns took their places throughout the parade. Some were being pulled on sleds on streets pretty much bare of snow, causing one clown to lose his hair as he slid off the sled. He recovered and climbed back on to finish with his dignity intact.

As much dignity as a clown can muster, anyway.

For Kristin and Eric Pigors, the parade was entertainment for their children. And this year they brought Kristin’s parents to see it.

“We traveled 250 miles just to see this,” said Gary McMahen, Kristin’s dad, before laughing. They actually had come to Jamestown from Killdeer to spend Thanksgiving with the Pigors, with the parade as a bonus.

“This is fun,” Kristin said. “It’s memories, especially for the kids.”

Though it’s the season for winter holidays, a bit of the spring holiday St. Patrick’s Day was also represented in the parade by Larry Knoblich, founder of the “Runnin’ O the Green.” Knoblich walked in the parade dressed as a leprechaun and carried a sign announcing the race for charity, which takes place on or near St. Patrick’s Day.

Winners in this year’s Holiday Dazzle on Main Parade were Best Dazzle, Stutsman Harley-Davidson; Most Original Theme, Roaming Buffalos; Most Outstanding Civic or Non profit, Girl Scout Troop 26; and Most Outstanding Amateur Built, Noridian.

Sun reporter Toni Pirkl can be reached at (701) 952-8453 or by e-mail at tonip@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, parade, holiday