The daily Astorian., November 22, 2018, Page 9, Image 9

NOVEMBER 22, 2018 // 9
JEFF TER HAR PHOTOS
LEFT: A reveler gets into the holiday spirit at Seaside’s 2016 Parade of Lights. RIGHT: A float featured in Seaside’s 2016 Parade of Lights.
works with the chambers to select what
that event should be.
“Given that it’s the Parade of
Lights, and we’re a power company,
we thought it was a good synergy to
participate as the signature sponsor,”
Dunlap said.
Owen added, “They really have
a great history of making sure this
parade happens for everybody.”
encapsulates what to her is the essence
of the holiday season — “family and
being together.”
“There’s just a special magic to it,”
she said. Having moved from a larger
area four years ago and now being in a
small town, she added, “it really is won-
derful to see how strong this community
is, and it’s amazing to see all these folks
come out the day after Thanksgiving
and come together as a community.”
Sense of wonder
Pacific Power also has a float in the
parade that tends to be one of the most
elaborate. The linemen and other staff
members decorate the company’s truck
for the parade.
Shelly Saunders, the Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation District’s Youth
Programs Manager, has had the privi-
lege of lighting the Christmas tree the
past two years.
“I feel it’s an honor to get to stand
there and watch all the kids react when
the tree is lit,” she said. “Young and
old, everybody has a sense of wonder.”
The preschool she directs, The
Learning Ladder, is also participating
in the parade for the first time this year.
The students will ride on the district’s
bus, which will be decked out in a
garland and other ornaments. Accord-
ing to Saunders, this will be a fitting
experience for the students, as “the
focus in the preschool has been about
community and our place in it.”
In general, she added, the event
Yuletide in Seaside
Parade participants should gather on
Necanicum Drive at 6 p.m.
The Seaside Chamber of Commerce
website provides a registration form,
as well as lighting tips for parade
entrants, encouraging them to consid-
er using small portable generators or
portable batteries for charging cars;
to decorate wagons, bicycles, pets
and themselves with battery-operated
miniature lights; or to incorporate glow
sticks. Spectators are also encouraged
to light themselves and to respect the
boundaries of the parade by staying out
of the streets as a safety measure.
The Parade of Lights is part of the
Yuletide in Seaside program, which
includes the Seaside Artisan Fair from
Friday to Sunday, Nov. 23 through 25,
and Small Business Saturday on Nov.
24.
For more information, contact the
chamber at 503-738-6391 or visit sea-
sidechamber.com. CW
The Parade of Lights in downtown Seaside is a community event put on by the Cham-
ber of Commerce and sponsored by Pacific Power.