Santa paid an early visit to Guttenberg this year. On Monday evening, Dec. 22, his red sleigh cruised down every street in town, accompanied by a fleet of little helpers who handed out gifts of candy to the delight of children along the route.
“We’ve been doing this for six or seven years,” explained Mayor Gerald Drasheff about the annual Santa parade through town. “It used to be just the mayor and the council, and then over the years we invited some of the kids and it got bigger and bigger. This is the most kids we’ve ever had.”
Indeed, the bus that brought volunteers down the hill to the waterfront community, where the parade kicked off, was packed to the rafters with youngsters and parents eager to share the holiday spirit with their neighbors.
Despite a light, misty rain, residents came out to enjoy the visit from Santa and his minions, with kids climbing into the sleigh for photos with the big guy.
A light, misty rain did little to dampen the spirits of residents as a parade of volunteers handed out candy in the streets of Guttenberg.
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“I was waiting,” said Khushalee Chokshi, holding her son Aryan. “It comes every year. He loves it so I was keeping an eye out.”
Young Aryan, watching the parade with an excited smile on his face and gifts of candy canes in hand, is a “quarter to three” years old according to mom, turning 4 early in the new year.
“I read about the parade someplace but I totally forgot, and then when I heard the sirens I remembered,” said Jared Taylor, holding his 1-year-old son, Jack. “This is great. This is so cool. I’m so glad they came down here” to the waterfront residences. “There’s so many kids in this community. I’m very appreciative for it.”
Poor Jack burst into tears when placed in Santa’s arms. He didn’t want to be separated from his dad, even just for a seasonal photo. “He loves his dad,” said Jared. “He’s very attached to Dad…until Mommy comes home.”
That holiday energy
“What we do is we go to every block in the town,” said Public Safety Director Michael Caliguiro. “First we start off at the waterfront, then we come up and go through the town, beginning at the Galaxy, and go block by block.”
The whole parade, he estimated, would take about three hours. “Every block gets covered. It’s a joint operation. We have the North Hudson Regional Fire Department, an ambulance, Guttenberg DPW, the police, Guttenberg Town Hall, the school system. We have everybody. Everybody is a volunteer here.”
Hundreds of residents, many in red Santa hats, marched alongside the entire Town Council and family members, waving and scurrying over to place treats in the hands of spectators.
Michael Rehfeld joined the revelers with his 6-year-old twins, Joel and Abigail, and his son, Michael, 8. “They’ve been in quite a few parades,” he said. “They usually do the firefighter parade that was like a week ago, but we missed that. We’re going to make up for it today. They’re going to walk the whole thing. And then they’re going to get some sleep tonight. Get rid of some of that holiday energy.”
Seventh-grader Daysi Sarmiento was among the students eager to help hand out candy canes to residents, bringing along her friend, Eric Martinez. “In the school they were handing out flyers” she said, explaining how she heard about the event. “And then I have a friend who volunteered last year and the year before that, so I decided I wanted to volunteer.”
Even dogs got into the act as residents walked their pups alongside the volunteers.
Best year yet
And then there were the cars. “The cops spent the whole weekend doing the cars,” said Drasheff, gesturing at one of the police cars decked out in colorful lights like a mobile Christmas tree. An inflatable Santa clung to the back of one of the vehicles, bringing laughter to neighbors as he cruised through town.
“This is the first year we’ve had that,” said Drasheff. “Usually it’s just the float and the ambulance. Everything else, it gets a little bit bigger each year.”
“Last year it was a different carriage,” noted Chokshi. “It wasn’t the sleigh. I like the lights. Last year the cars weren’t lit up. It’s better this year than last year.”
The beaming faces of the kids agreed.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.