On Friday, December 3, the Coalition of Mineral County and the Hawthorne Lions Club hosted the annual Community Christmas Parade, delighting residents and visitors alike with some pre-holiday fun. This year, 10 floats entered the parade, starting at ACE Hardware and working their way up the main drag to 10th Street. While there wasn’t the usual cookies, hot cocoa, and craft fair like in years’ past due to Covid, the Coalition was thrilled to be able to at least bring back the parade and delight attendees with special appearances by the Grinch, Santa, and Mrs. Claus.

“The parade went really well. We had to throw it together quick this year, but we had quite a few entries. Pop Warner, the hospital (Mt. Grant General Hospital), the fire department, and the sheriff’s office were there, and we also had little elves handing out candy canes for Santa (who was in the fire truck with Mrs. Claus),” says Coalition Member Starr Williams.

Kathy Chidester
An entrant in Hawthorne’s community Christmas parade cruises down Main Street on Friday evening.

The Coalition also handed out goodie bags with pencils, temporary tattoos, and “Proud to Be Drug Free” dog tags with McGruff the Crime Fighting Dog.

“Hundreds of people came, lined up on the sidewalk from ACE to 10th Street,” Williams says. Her favorite float was the hospital’s; while its employees didn’t have a lot of time to create it, Williams liked its snowy landscape.

“Our coordinator pulled it together quickly, but it came out cute,” she says.

When asked what her favorite part of the parade was, she responded, “Just giving back to the community and the kids. I’m always the Grinch, and the kids get so excited when they see me. It’s just fun, the kids love it. The tiny ones cry but most of them are happy.”

The Coalition and Lions Club has been putting on the Christmas parade for at least six years now.

“The Lions Club decorates the park, and we joined together and started the night parade. It’s always held the first Friday in December at the same time as the Serpent Classic (the Mineral County High School Varsity Basketball Tournament), so we get quite a lot of people attending from out of town,” says Williams.

She adds that since the parade wasn’t held last year due to the pandemic, she thinks more people came this year that brought back some sense of normalcy of years’ past.

“I’m looking forward to bring it back fully next year (with cookies, chili, cocoa, the crafts fair, and photos with Santa),” Williams smiles.