VILONIA — All are invited to bundle up, grab some hot chocolate and make their way to the Vilonia downtown area at 5 p.m. Saturday for the Christmas parade.
Santa has his plate full this time of year, but he has reserved a firetruck to ride on during the event. The grand marshal will be Frank Mitchell, longtime school superintendent.
The parade will follow the same route as last year. It will begin at the city park and travel on U.S. 64 through the downtown area to the Vilonia High School parking lot. Floats will be lit up reflecting the theme “I’ll be Home for Christmas.”
In conjunction with the parade, the Museum of Veterans and Military History will hold a soup supper/auction beginning at 5 p.m. in the Vilonia High School cafeteria.
Lynette Edwards, soup-supper coordinator, said it’s the perfect location for paradegoers to shop and have a meal before or afterward. Those waiting on the Vilonia Christmas parade to wind through the city can warm up with a bowl of homemade soup, cornbread muffins, homemade desserts, tea and coffee for $5.
“It’s all going to be really good,” she said. “There are going to be several types of soup, gumbo and homemade dumplings. You will definitely get your money’s worth. And, this is all for a good cause.”
Proceeds will go to the Museum of Veterans and Military History.
A live auction, which will begin at about 6:30 p.m., will offer more than 100 items, she said.
Early-bird shoppers can begin the silent bidding at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Compliments of the Vilonia Fire Department and Mike Harwood of MLC Photography, Santa Claus will sprint from the Christmas parade to the high school cafeteria, where he will be available to pose for photos with children. Harwood will take photos and process them on-site at no charge, allowing parents to walk away with a memory. Parents will be allowed to take their own photographs, too.