Simsbury holiday parade to go on
Simsbury’s beloved Torchlight Parade will go on this weekend despite the pandemic, but visitors will be the ones parading: The decorated fire trucks will be parked along the roadside.
The town and its fire department concluded they couldn’t conduct the traditional parade safely this year, but firefighters were intent on keeping the tradition alive.
So on Saturday evening, there will once again be a small fleet of fire trucks decorated with holiday lights, garlands, plastic snowmen.
But rather than cruising down Hopmeadow Street between lines of spectators, the trucks will be parked along Iron Horse Boulevard. Visitors in cars will form a procession, and can drive slowly past to view the display while firefighters — and Santa — wave.
“We really can’t have a parade this year that would bring together people in a mass group, but we had to figure out a way to keep this parade going in some manner,” Fire Chief James Baldis said. “With so many things canceled, we didn’t want to cancel this, too.”
Across the nation and beyond, holiday season activities from carol sings and fun runs to choir concerts and Santa festivals have been getting canceled. But Simsbury chose to put on a revamped version of the Torchlight Parade, a 20-year annual tradition, and its Simsbury Celebrates fireworks display.
Both will be held Saturday evening, but with significant restrictions to keep participants safe. As usual, the parade will feature decorated firetrucks, and Santa will be onLadder11. But firefighters won’t distribute candies and Santa won’t be close to children; all visitors must stay in their cars as they go past.
Traffic will enter the procession from Iron Horse Boulevard at Hopmeadow Street. Hours are 5 to 7 p.m. No pedestrians will be allowed along Iron Horse during the parade, the town notes.
Drivers are invited to tune their radios to 103.5 WSIM to hear holiday music as they cruise past the trucks. The Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company will have much of its fleet on display, along with decorated trucks from several other towns.
Afterward, visitors may drive home to watch the 8 p.m. fireworks show. Alternately, they may park at Simsbury High School, the Henry James Memorial Middle School or the Simsbury Farms parking lot to view the display, but are advised to follow all coronavirus restrictions.
Baldis said the idea for the reverse parade came for an experiment at Easter, not long after the pandemic had begun. Firefighters spent hours driving the Easter bunny on a firetruck through one neighborhood after another to ensure children got to see it.
“It was an overwhelming success,” Baldis said. “So we thought Iron Horsewouldbe a perfect venue for a display of decorations. The parade is always such a warm, wholesome New England family event, we didn’t want to let it be canceled.”
More details are available at the department’s Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/SimsburyFire.