Let the good times roll; Stanford Christmas Parade goes over two hours for special filming
Published 5:00 am Saturday, December 10, 2022
The Great American Family film crew captures Santa concluding the parade. photo by Fiona Morgan
Lincoln County cheerleaders wave to the crowd on their Christmas tree float. photo by Fiona Morgan
Miss Kentucky 2022 Hannah Edelen (top center) waves to the crowd from a Christmas float. photo by Fiona Morgan
Kids dressed as farm animals, shepherds and angels to recreate the nativity scene on a float. photo by Fiona Morgan
A little girl is excited at seeing a Christmas float. photo by Fiona Morgan
Kids pick up candy from the street. photo by Fiona Morgan
Kids part of Redemption Road Christian Academy sing carols. photo by Fiona Morgan
A family enjoys their time on a Lincoln gold float. photo by Fiona Morgan
Bob and Ilene Swett sold decorated Christmas trees during the Stanford Christmas parade. photo by Fiona Morgan
Santa goes by the courthouse, concluding the parade. photo by Fiona Morgan
Photo by Fiona Morgan
People on floats threw candy for the kids all night. photo by Fiona Morgan
A huge crowd turned out for the Stanford Christmas Parade. Photo by Abigail Roberts
LCHS cheerleaders. Photo by Abigail Roberts
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was a popular theme throughout the parade. Photo by Abigail Roberts
TV crews film portions of the parade. Photo by Abigail Roberts
FIONA MORGAN
The Stanford Christmas Parade’s 40th anniversary was a big success and possibly the longest in its history.
A Great American Family crew filmed the entire parade for an upcoming special focused on Stanford called “Christmas in Kentucky.”
Actress Jen Lilley is hosting the special. She led off the parade in a GAF float, followed by Mayor Dalton Miller.
Locals went all out on decorating their floats, everyone excited to be part of the special. The parade lasted over two hours, much longer than its usual 40 to 50 minutes.
Lincoln County Chamber member John David Friend estimated that there were over 100 floats. He said there were about 300 parade entries total, including tractors, golf carts, jeeps, horses, classic cars, floats, etc.
Entries included everything from the local schools, businesses, car clubs, local pageant winners, local organizations, and others. Multiple floats featured “The Grinch,” and everyone was excited to see Santa conclude the parade in a classic red truck.
“I think it’s been a great thing for Stanford,” Friend said. “People put a lot of hard work, and time, and effort, and money; there’s a lot of money invested in those floats.”
About 20 chamber board members and 100 volunteers helped put on the parade. The GAF crew filmed their efforts beforehand. They filmed people and places around Stanford for a week before the parade.
After the parade, the Snow Queen pageant took place in front of the courthouse with 92 participants. Winners included different age groups of queens, countesses, dutchesses, and princesses.
People can watch the Christmas special on the GAC network, which is Channel 1137 on Spectrum. The air date has yet to be announced.
