This year’s Lighted Christmas Parade will go on as planned, but just how jolly it is will depend on the success of the Orion Area Parade Group’s fundraising efforts.
The nonprofit group is separate from the Orion Area Chamber of Commerce, who has run the parade in year’s past. This year’s parade will take place in downtown Lake Orion on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.
“(The Orion Area Parade Group) came about because the chamber wanted to get more involved in promoting local businesses rather than planning events,” explained parade group member Sue Turpen. “We’re shoring it up and putting a new face on it.”
The chamber plans to stay involved with the parade, with two of its representatives sitting on the board of the parade group. Parade group co-chair Joe Geraci said the nonprofit status is something that wasn’t available before, when the chamber was in charge of the parade.
“We want everyone involved, churches, scouts,” said Turpen. “Our theme this year is ‘Honoring Hometown Heroes,’ and Dr. (Craig) Younkman (Lake Orion Schools Superintendent) has been very involved, helping us select kids to be honored.”
Besides students, the parade will also honor local Olympians and those with Olympic aspirations, as well as some professional athletes in the area.
“They will all essentially serve as our grand marshals,” Geraci said. “The response from the high school has been incredible.”
What hasn’t been so incredible, however, is the response the parade group has gotten to its fund raising efforts in the community. Turpen said some funds are available from last year’s parade, but at this point it would provide a “bare bones” event, at best.
“The fundraising is very slow…we are in dire need of community help,” Turpen added. “The people who love this parade need to help us put on this parade.”
The group plans to hold the annual parade fundraiser, the Holly Jolly Folly, at Castello Di Bologna at Canterbury Village on Dec. 5, at 7 p.m., immediately following the fireworks there. Tickets are $30, and include food and music.
Geraci said costs for elements of the parade such as sound, lighting, bands and insurance for the village are very expensive.
“All our major sponsors have declined this year,” he added. “That will dictate the Holly Jolly.”
“People think parades just happen,” Turpen said. “Right now, we need an organization to take on the Santa float… we have an offer for a vehicle to pull it, but we need a sponsor and volunteers to pull it together.”
The group hopes to include costumed characters in this year’s parade, but said right now it can’t afford the bands.
Last year’s parade drew a crowd of about 30,000 people to the village, according to Geraci, with 56 volunteers and 87 entries in the parade.
“We hope to have the same size,” he said. “With the parade, it’s been a tightly-knit group of individuals that sponsor this parade out of the good of their hearts.”
Turpen said there has been some confusion with local merchants involving funds for the lighted parade and the lighting of the village.
“Some people think they are donating for the same thing,” she said. “So when we go to ask them to help, they say ‘I’ve already donated to that.'”
Geraci said by having non-profit status for the group, donators are guaranteed that their money will go only towards financing the Christmas Parade.
“It’s the only night parade in the entire area,” he said. “There are a lot of logistics that make it different from a day parade. We would like to eventually make it more professional and also to add scholarships to it.”
The parade group is accepting donations as well as volunteers for help in such areas as traffic control and staging. This year’s parade route will be the same as last year, beginning at the old Blanche Sims School, pending the village council’s approval.
The Orion Area Parade Group has a website at www.oapg.org. For more information, contact Orion Area Parade Group Chairperson Chuck Saputo at 693-0990, co-chair Joe Geraci at 391-5962, or Holly Jolly Chairperson Sue Turpen at 391-3713.