Having fun and doing some service: UTV light parade set for Friday
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IDAHO FALLS — The first annual UTV Holiday Light Parade at the Great Snake River Greenbelt is set to ring in the holiday Friday evening.
The parade will start at 7 p.m. at the Mountain America Center. Santa and Mrs. Claus will lead 300 UTVs (side-by-sides) around the Snake River in a procession of bright colors and holiday cheer.
The Idaho Falls Rotary Club, Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation and Action Motor Sports are sponsoring the parade, which has exceeded organizers’ expectations, according to Kevin Call.
“You kind of smile and think, ‘Will this really work?’ And, we set a goal that if we can get 300 machines, that’s probably way, way beyond our goal,” Call said. “Last Monday, we were at 300 (entries) and we had about 50 waiting.”
The idea behind the parade is two-fold, Cook told EastIdahoNews.com. First, organizers wanted to put on a “really fun” event that was free to attend.
“And number two, we wanted to do a good thing,” Call said. “We thought if everybody that’s in it would just bring five cans of food … maybe we get 150 cans or something.”
With 300 entries, Call and the other organizers are pleased to have 1,500 cans of food to donate to the Community Food Basket in Idaho Falls. If folks want to bring more food with them when they come to watch, there will be collection bins on both sides of the river.
“So if people come and watch and want to bring some canned food to give a little Christmas gift to the Food Basket, what a wonderful thing,” Call said. “we’re having fun and we’re doing some service.”
There will be food trucks along the parade route, so people can line up anywhere along the eight-mile route, enjoy some food and get into the holiday spirit.
“We just want everybody to have fun. And I hope everybody can get a little more of the Christmas spirit,” Call said.
