Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Samantha Hernandez (left) and Brittany Purcell, both 6, find good spots for viewing the parade.

Parade brings out Saratoga community

By Sarah Lombardo

Mother Nature must have heard the prayers of Saratoga Community Parade organizers. Despite forecasters' calls for rain this weekend, the Oct. 4 parade was bathed in sunshine.

"It was wonderful," parade committee chairman Warren Lampshire said. "It came off without a glitch."

Some 5,000 to 7,000 people lined the parade route, from Saratoga Avenue at Fruitvale Avenue all the way up to Big Basin Way at Fourth Street, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department officials.

But most of the crowd came to the Saratoga Village, Lampshire said. "The Village was just loaded."

The parade--sponsored by the Saratoga Rotary Club, the Sister City of Saratoga, the Saratoga National Bank, the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and the city--featured about 100 entries, from marching bands and preschools to vintage vehicles and local associations.

And the prizes were plentiful.

In the high school marching band division, Saratoga High School won first place for band and tall flags; Homestead High School garnered second place for band and ID unit, also known as tall flags or spirit.

In the middle-school division, Redwood Middle School earned first place in every category.

"That was our only middle school, so they didn't have much competition," Lampshire said. "But they were wonderful."

St. Andrew's School won first place for best decorated float, with El Sereno 4-H garnering second for decorated float.

In the decorated-vehicles category, the Sara-toga Youth Commission won first place, and the Saratoga Historical Society earned second.

Antique vehicles also competed against each other: First place went to an entry called "Lee's Antique Tractor," which featured a boy sitting proudly behind the wheel of the vintage tractor. Second place went to a 1930 Ford Model-A/Woody station wagon.

Other winners included the first-place Benjamin Boarding Band, the second-place Stevens Canyon Fire Department--with Smokey bear sitting atop a fire truck--and the third-place American Civil War Association. First-place prizes were also awarded to the Saratoga Preschool and to the Bay Area Donkey and Mule Society for their entries.

After a successful parade in 1996, the Saratoga Community Parade was absent from streets last year when city funding was cut. Lampshire and the Rotary began planning--and fund raising last year--to ensure the parade returned.

And, Lampshire said, plans are already in the works for next year's parade on Oct. 3.

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