LAUREL HILL — With a howl of fire engine sirens and calls of “Merry Christmas” from riders and observers, the Laurel Hill Christmas Parade wended its way through town Saturday, leaving candies galore scattered in its wake.
Old Red, the Laurel Hill Fire Department’s restored 1940s fire engine, led the procession, with First Baptist Church pastor and Fire Chief Mike McVay, dressed in his familiar Hobo mascot outfit, waving from the rear step.
Candidates for political office, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and floats bearing proud Laurel Hill School Hoboes and church groups contributed to the small but merry parade.
As it headed up Fourth Avenue, Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church volunteers paused while laying out hundreds of luminaries for the evening Living Nativity to catch cascades of bonbons, Bible bookmarks and small games and puzzles.
As the sun set, the church grounds' candlelight twinkled, with fire pits defining stops along the way for more than 225 attendees who made “journeys to Bethlehem.”
At each stop, attendees heard the stories of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, King Herod, and a Roman census taker before arriving at the stable in Bethlehem.
“We look forward to it every year,” Katie Lynn Powell, who brought her sons down from Andalusia, Alabama, for the event. “It’s part of our Christmas now.”
“What a joy and honor to be a part of this,” volunteer Tammie Becker of Crestview said. “This is an awesome event and it gets just a little better each year.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill celebrates Christmas with parade, Living Nativity (VIDEO)