A longtime Jefferson City tradition closed out a weekend of Christmas events that saw huge crowds come to the downtown area.
Saturday's 82nd annual Jefferson City Jaycees Christmas Parade had 125 entries, parade chairman Anna Tyler said.
"That's getting near a record for us," Tyler said. "We wanted to give back to the community after all we've gone through in the last couple of years. It's great to have everybody come out and enjoy this weather and the holidays."
The parade featured bands, dance teams, emergency service vehicles from various departments as well as floats from organizations and businesses.
One of those businesses was Walmart East and Amy Massoner, who is a coach and facilitator at the store. She said they were following the theme for the parade, "Christmas Though The Decades." The float featured toys from the 1980s, including a life-size Cabbage Patch Doll, Transformer and Care Bear.
"Who wouldn't want to be on a float in a parade?" Massoner said. "It sounded like fun."
This was the first year the store had a float and Massoner said it was important for them because they wanted show they wanted to be part of the community.
"We thought about doing this for about four or five years and finally we just said, 'Let's do it,'" Massoner said. "I hope we can do this for several more years. It'd be great if they kept this theme for next year so we could just keep all this stuff."
The Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution participated this year. Spokesman Jim Baker said events like the parade are important to let people know about their organizations.
"We're about preserving and teaching history and hopefully people would want to join our groups," Baker said. "The Revolutionary War doesn't have a lot west of the Mississippi River, other than the battle of Fort San Carlos in St. Louis."
The Jaycees will take a break for the next couple of weeks, then Tyler said they will start planning for the 83rd parade after the beginning of the year.
"I realize that it's almost a big an undertaking as the fair (which the Jaycees sponsor at the end of July)," Tyler said. "I owe a lot to the parade committee and Jaycee members helping out. It takes a lot to get this event together."