In the lane, there wasn't much snow glistening, but the 79th Jefferson City Jaycees Christmas Parade was still a beautiful sight that made many people happy Saturday at twilight, as the "Winter Wonderland" themed spectacle walked and drove by.
Photo Gallery
Arkansas Earth Day Festival
The state's 6th annual festival included eco-friendly products, businesses and informational booths, music, food and "green" family fun on the north shore of the Arkansas River, Saturday April 25.
"We're really excited about a 60 degree 'Winter Wonderland,'" Erin Wiseman said Friday about the unseasonably warm forecast for the day of the parade, adding more people tend to come out for the parade when the weather is warmer.
Wiseman is a Jaycees member and in charge of the parade line-up as part of the Christmas Parade Planning Committee - and she's Jefferson City Ward 3 Councilwoman.
By the time the parade started at 4:30 p.m., the sunny warmth the day started with had faded into a cloudy, windy evening with gusts capable of blowing street closure signs and folding chairs over and giving noses a chill.
Children still frolicked and played outside ahead of the parade, though. Boys found thrills even without snow, as they rolled themselves down the grassy slopes on the lawn in front of the Missouri State Capitol. A girl sat on a blanket between parked cars - the streets swept clean by Friday night's downpouring rain that seemed to threaten to return for a moment during the parade, but a few drops didn't deter the crowd along the parade's route, particularly on High Street.
Then, the time-honored sight and sound traditions of Christmas parades processed by - military uniforms, high school mascots and bands, scouts troops, flashing firetrucks, a live Nativity scene on a trailer and candy to throw, of course.
Wiseman said there were 118 floats registered - "that's up from last year."
Amy McFarland, of Jefferson City, was at the intersection of East Capitol Avenue and Monroe Street with her son Isaac and her sister and her children.
McFarland said they are not at the parade every year, but it is a tradition - one she's participated in since she was 7 years old.
Isaac said his favorite part of the parade is the bands.
This year's grand marshal, who rode in a white limousine at the head of almost all the other marchers, was David Scheperle, of Russellville, who retired in October after 41 years of service as a Cole County Deputy Sheriff.
Scheperle took a 10-year hiatus from his career with the Cole County Sheriff's Department to work at the Callaway Nuclear Plant, but he worked under sheriffs from Horace Debo in 1969 to current Sheriff John Wheeler.
With the Jaycees Christmas Parade's 80th anniversary next year, Wiseman anticipated "We're going to hopefully have a big party."
She added: "We wish everybody a merry Christmas."