Community Corner
PHOTOS: 20,000 Residents Pack Downtown for Pleasanton Hometown Holiday Parade
The crowd was delighted by parade, jazz and tree lighting.
The Hometown Holiday Celebration, which unofficially kicks off the holiday season, delighted an estimated 20,000 Saturday night with a parade, music performance, and tree lighting.
In all, the parade had 95 entries with more than 2,600 participants who marched down Main Street, including Fiona the Cow.
Fiona, who is a life-size fiberglass cow that came all the way from Scotland, arrived within hours of the parade start. According to organizers, the educational milking cow that will eventually end up at the Alviso Adobe was delayed at both New York and San Francisco customs for fear that it might be concealing illicit drugs.
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Leading off the parade was the marching band with the marching band marking the midpoint of the parade.
In addition, the Balloon Platoon, which is always a crowd favorite, performed along with plenty of Boy and Girl Scout walkers and assorted vehicles and floats.
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The Pleasanton City Council was carried in a horse-drawn carriage with Mayor Jennifer Hosterman in the top seat. It wasn’t a complete holiday parade before Santa pulled up as the final entry, being transported by a with lights and sirens.
The program and tree lighting followed the parade, and included Pleasanton’s own Don Lewis and Jeff Bordes.
The two led a jazz-themed holiday music program with the brass and vocals provided by Pleasanton’s CoolTones.
Concluding the program was a stage visit by Santa and the City Council including Mayor Hosterman, who flipped the switch to light the tree infront of the .
