Lemoore Christmas Parade returns with Dr. Seuss twist

Dec. 1—The City of Lemoore Christmas Parade is back, in-person, and with a new theme centered around one of the most iconic authors who ever lived.

According to Benjamin Kahikina, the president and CEO for the Greater Kings County Chamber of Commerce, the theme for this year will be "Who-bilation," a tribute to beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.

"We were kind of poking around — we were kind of figuring out what was going to give us the holiday spirit. We had not seen a Dr. Seuss-themed parade in some time, and so we thought 'what better way to kind of bring the Christmas spirit to some of the kids than Dr. Seuss?'"

Kahikina added that he hopes the theme will also get parents reading his books to their children, tying education into the parade.

Due to precautions surrounding COVID-19, the Chamber had planned to set up the Lemoore Christmas Parade as a drive-thru event similar to last year's in the pandemic. However, plans have changed and the team has instead decided on a full-blown parade like they've done in years past, though contingencies are still in place to hold a drive-thru event if the County decides it is unsafe.

"We did want to maintain our safety protocols — we were unsure of what was going to happen with the County," Kahikina said. "And at the end of the day, we decided to revert it back to a traditional parade and we are reintroducing floats; people will be able to congregate and watch the parade from a city sidewalk, which we are super-excited for."

The Lemoore Christmas Parade will begin on D Street at 6 p.m. Saturday

"We have quite a bit of floats that are going to be decked out in a Dr. Seuss theme; there may be a couple of Grinches," Kahikina said. "We're not too sure how many there will be, but we anticipate a lot, and so we're excited to bring some of the whimsy back to Lemoore for the holiday season."