All of the hard work has paid off and the 51st Annual Downtown Garden City Santaland Parade is only days away. The 2011 edition of the parade is Saturday, November 26 beginning at 10am. This year’s parade will travel the same route as last year beginning at Garden City High School, traveling south on Middlebelt Road, turn east on Ford Road and end in the Garden City Town Center parking lot where the Downtown Development Authority will once again host the Santaland post-parade event.
This year’s grand marshals include three members of the Army National Guard. Specialist John Speier, Specialist Andy Clor and Sgt. Anthony Smith are all Garden City residents and are members of the American Legion Post 396. They are all attached to the Army National Guard 1776 MP Company in Taylor, MI and spent 1 year deployed in Afghanistan returning home on Oct. 29th, 2011.
Additional notables include Ms. World International Heidi Sheer and Garden City’s First Citizen Bob Squires.
Favorites returning for this year include the Great Lakes Garrison, one of the premier Imperial Star Wars costuming groups, the Taylor Kennedy and Livonia Franklin marching bands, two large parade balloons, the GCHS Homecoming Court, the Redford Unicycle Club, the Redford Jaycee’s Lawnmower Drill Corp, the Shriners Tin Lizzies, Stan the Fireman, the Detroit Tigers mascot Paws and the Detroit Lions mascot Roary.
The parade will be carried live on GCTV (channel 12 on Comcast and channel 18 on WOW) and can also be seen live streamed to the internet on the City’s website at www.gardencitymi.org/gctv. The parade will be seen the remainder of that weekend as well as throughout the holiday on GCTV.
The post-parade Santaland event will be held in the Garden City Town Center parking lot next to Kroger immediately following the parade. Santa will receive the key to the City from Mayor Randy Walker and the awards for the three best floats will be given away. The winners will receive prizes of $300, $200 and $100 from the Santaland Parade Committee. There will be free entertainment and hot chocolate provided by the Salvation Army and kids will have the opportunity to tell Santa their Christmas wishes. Entertainment will include The WhatAbouts.
The Great Lakes Garrison will be collecting Toys for the Toys for Tots drive at the Garden City Santaland Parade. Bring a new unwrapped toy and hand it to one of your favorite Star Wars characters as they march by. Then stick around at the end of the parade and take photos with your favorite Star Wars Character or pay a visit to Santa. Marines will also be collecting toys at the end of the parade route.
The title sponsor of the Downtown Garden City Santaland Parade is the Downtown Development Authority. Large donations were made again this year by Rock Starz Karaoke Bar and Grill ($2,000) and Garden City Hospital ($1,000). $500 donations were made by Santeiu and Sons Funeral Home, Gordon Chevrolet, Garden City Medical Center, John Fleming, Fleming Financial, Orin's Jewelers, Dr. Mark Barsamian and RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes. $250 came from Wendy's of Garden City, Garden City Exchange, Certified Home Improvement and American Legion Post 7575. Additional donations were made by Roma's Banquets, Jets Pizza, Rick's Custom Cycle, Sav-On Drugs, Mayor Randy Walker and Merriman Road Baptist Church.
Hoodies are still available at the DDA office on Ford Road just east of Middlebelt for only $20. The Santaland Parade Committee sold out of pink hoodies, but plan to have more shortly. The hoodies also come in red and green. The first 70 were donated by Inkorporate Marketing.
The Downtown Garden City Santaland Parade is put on by the by the Santaland Parade Committee, which is a part of the Community Coalition. The parade committee consists of Kevin Kramis, Pat Squires, Monica Fulton, Donna Spiteri, Alan Sedar, Kim Dold, Stacey Tobar, Sue Nicholas and Dan York. “Garden City should be very proud of this group of volunteers. They work tirelessly on the parade and without them, this Garden City tradition wouldn’t happen,” said York one of the committee members. The Community Coalition is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for all who live in Garden City by promoting a lifestyle free from the abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Additional details about the parade can be found on their website at www.santalandparade.com.
