A holiday tradition in Marysville
Dec. 6—At the stroke of 5 p.m. on Saturday night, lights flashed and sirens wailed courtesy of multiple law enforcement vehicles heading down D Street to kickoff the 71st Marysville Christmas Parade.
One of the longest-running Marysville traditions returned for another year to ring in the holiday and Christmas season.
Followed by law enforcement vehicles from multiple counties were floats built by a variety of local businesses, nonprofit organizations and schools — all making their way the approximate 1.5-mile route down D Street and back up C Street while folks huddled together trying to stay warm in a steady rainstorm.
Local parade-goers and past participants said it often rains on the Marysville Christmas Parade, but it does not dampen any spirits. The same families come out every year to celebrate a holiday tradition.
Tiffany Taylor, who resides in Yuba City now, but grew up in Marysville and attended Mary Covillaud Elementary School, is a fan and past participant of the Marysville Christmas Parade.
Taylor remembered marching with the Covillaud Cougars as a child and now she watches with her two children — one of whom is a student at Mary Covillaud Elementary School.
"I have been a Marysville resident my whole life, right down the street, so every local parade we are down here for it," Taylor said.
One of Taylor's most memorable parades was three years ago when her youngest child, Hazel, experienced the spectacle for the first time as a baby at just a couple months old.
It was also raining three years ago, Taylor said, but no one minded, especially Hazel.
"She was so infatuated with the lights," Taylor said.
This year's parade theme was "Christmastime in Santa's Workshop," and the route featured many of the same faces that highlight each of the multiple parades that line D Street throughout the year. The grand marshal was SAYLove founder Jeff Stephens, a well known figure in the region for his constant work in cleaning up troubled areas in Yuba-Sutter.
"We have that small-town loyalty," said Sabi Bains, the CEO of Freedom Home Health and Hospice Care Services, Inc. "It feels like a family when you are out here on D Street watching the parade. It's wonderful to know that we still have that tradition here."
Bains and his Freedom family built one of the many floats that made their way down the Marysville streets for the 71st time — a float that featured a pair of Christmas trees and a 6-foot-plus blowup Santa Claus. The crew was present early Saturday morning building the float so it would be ready in time to showcase under the lights, said Freedom Home Health and Hospice Care Services, Inc. Marketing Director Jessica Kenyon.
"We want to see the kids happy," Kenyon said. "It's about the kids today and we want to see them smile when they see the lights."
Cerita Rivera said there are not many parades anymore that take place in the evening — a welcome sight in Marysville because now Rivera can see a sparkle each and every holiday season.
"It's a beautiful parade (and) it was something new to me," Rivera said. "I think it is a beautiful thing every year to see something sparkle. ... It makes you feel good."