Christmas Parade in downtown Richmond

CHRIS I. YOUNG TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Published: December 7, 2008

Anastasia Johnson shared a chair with her best friend, Chalise Lewis, and got the VIP view of classic cars, riders on horseback, and a yellow dancing dragon carried by nine helpers in yesterday's Christmas Parade in downtown Richmond.

As a kaleidoscope of dancers and floats drifted by, Anastasia and Chalise shared a hand warmer and smiled from ear to ear.

Anastasia said she marched in the Christmas Parade a year ago, but she got to watch this year.
"It's fun, you get to march and all the people wave to you," she said.

The 25th annual event made its way down Broad Street for nearly two hours.

Three Black Hawk helicopters ushered in the marchers shortly after 10 a.m. There were high school marching bands, with flag corps and dancers; a cluster of Shriners clowns on go-karts; giant balloons that had to be squeezed under and around overhead obstructions; and a float of Christian rappers and dancers.

Families sat on sidewalks and draped themselves in blankets to ward off the cold. They stood when the Virginia Army National Guard appeared in formation. Red Santa hats were sprinkled throughout the crowd, which was half a dozen rows deep in some places.

Patrice Carroll, an event organizer, said that despite the economic recession, the number of parade units was at an all-time high with 98 groups participating.

"Because it's the 25th anniversary, it's gotten more emphasis," she said. Police estimated the crowd at 275,000 to 280,000, she said. "It was wall-to-wall people the entire two-and-a-half-mile route. Usually, we have thick parts and thin parts, but it was jam-packed the entire way."
Astronaut Leland Melvin, the grand marshal, sat in a black 1965 Cadillac, followed by a giant Buzz the Astronaut balloon.

Melvin noted afterward the diversity of the crowd.

"All different types of people were here, and it was great to see people come out and support Richmond and the parade," he said.

A Lynchburg native, Melvin earned degrees at the University of Richmond and University of Virginia, played professional football briefly, and was selected as an astronaut in 1998. In February, he flew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. He will be a mission specialist on the shuttle Discovery in a planned October launch.

About 55 local schoolchildren, including Anastasia and Chalise, got to see Melvin up close after the last float moved down Broad Street. A chapter of the Boys and Girls Club and a class of fourth-graders in the local "I Have A Dream" Foundation watched the Ukrop's-Supervalu parade at the beginning of the route, had lunch at the Science Museum of Virginia, and heard a pep talk by Melvin.

Boys and Girls Club leader Danielle Baskerville said her kids, from North Richmond and Henrico County, knew they were taking a field trip to the parade but learned only yesterday they would get to meet an astronaut.

"It was a surprise for them," she said. Contact Chris I. Young at (804) 649-6754