By Wendy Guo
News Assistant

   The 33rd annual Lighted Christmas Parade began its festivities Saturday, Dec. 7, on Sixth Street in Clarkston. From LHS, the marching band bundled up to perform in the parade.

   “I always enjoy playing [the mellophone] at the holiday parade,” said Luke Purcell, a junior. “It does get cold out, but once we get moving, you don’t notice it.”

   Another junior, Colt Christie, also loves performing for the marching band, but doesn’t feel the same about weather.
“It’s cool seeing all the kids smiling and decorating our instruments,” said Christie, who plays the saxophone. “But I’m not a fan of the cold and it’s hard to play our instruments.”

   The parade was free for everybody to watch and to be surrounded with holiday cheer. It wasn’t just for the children or elders to enjoy. 

   This local holiday tradition happens every year on the first Saturday in December, hosted by the Lewis-Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce. This year, the theme was “Christmas Memories.” Dozens of floats, ATVs and marching bands brought out the excitement of the holidays that lit up the streets. For the first time this year, KLEW streamed the parade live at klewtv.com. The following week, it was broadcasted on Channel 3 – KLEW, according to lcvalleychamber.org.