Lions Club hosts holiday kickoff

The Shafter Christmas Parade and Festival at Mannel Park on Friday brought the community together to celebrate the season of cheer. Hosted by the Lions Club, this evening featured a parade with over 40 entries, including festive floats, decorated cars and trucks, and lively marching bands, all radiating holiday spirit. Kicking off the festivities were activities at the park, including food trucks, games, bouncy houses and lots of "snow."

All of the schools in the Richland School District, as well as the Richland Jr. High Band, participated in the parade. The theme this year was "Richland Goes to the North Pole." The Student Council, ambassadors, school mascots "Swoop" and "Sequoia Bear," and Redwood Elementary School's Kindness Squad were all on board the float.

Many participants were dressed in costume, including Victor Lagunas of Jasmine's Bakery, who came as the Grinch. He said he wanted to be part of the parade to show love for Shafter and support all the small businesses in town.

Others, such as Pastor Omar Hinojosa of La Rosa Saron Church, thought it would be fun for the kids. His congregation has been participating in the parade for the last five years. "We do it for the love of Christ and to show love to everyone," he said.

Pablo Cuevas shared his enthusiasm for the event. "I brought my whole family. I loved the cars with the lights, all the schools, the food, the music. There was a good family environment," he said. Julian Buenrostro stated that his favorite parts were the vintage cars, hanging out with friends and getting ready for Christmas.

There was also a Christmas tree raffle, managed by Lions Club member Ana Vigil, who ran the booth. She shared her favorite part of the event: "I liked best seeing people happy. Many people are signing up for the raffle and are excited to win." The trees were donated by Richie Salazar of R&D Electric and Floyd's General Store. "We thank them for blessing our local families here in Shafter with their donation," she added.

Santa made a big appearance at the end of the night, posing for pictures and bringing gifts for the children, who were thrilled to receive them.

Lions Club Treasurer Gustavo Olvera was pleased with the event's success and excited about the turnout. "We've done this parade now for at least ten years, and since we started, it has grown. Every year, more people from the community and surrounding areas attend. This year was probably one of the best we've ever had. The turnout was great as people saw we had a lot of parade entries," he said.

"There were 48 parade entries, the most we've ever had, and I believe this event was just as big as the Harvest Festival we had a couple of months ago," Lions Club President and Councilmember Gilbert Alvarado said. "All the hard work and effort put into organizing this special event for the community to enjoy was worth it."