At the end of every year, Pleasanton holds its annual Hometown Holiday Parade. This year’s parade was set to take place on the evening of Dec. 3. But due to the rainstorm, the planning crew was forced to call off the event at the last minute. 

“I have been volunteering for almost 20 years and each year has been absolutely amazing thanks to the wonderful staff. This year, we wanted to display everything our town has to offer, so we were a bit indecisive making the final decision. But once it got down the wire, I knew, sadly, the right thing to do was call it off,” said event manager Brian Dutchover.

Despite all the time volunteers and staff had put into preparing, the outcome was different from what many expected. Readying the parking lot and arranging decorations is a laborious task, even more so in the pouring rain. 

“The weather definitely made completing our tasks more difficult. But even in these conditions, everyone kept up a positive attitude while we prepared downtown to the best of our abilities,” said Sydney Seipel (‘23), one of the event staff.

The planning crew consisted of volunteers who came together to support Pleasanton’s long-time tradition. Unfortunately, the parade ended up officially canceled at 3 pm. However, the annual tree-lighting ceremony still took place and helped brighten up the mood.

“Planning had been in process for weeks, and I’ll admit, it was disappointing that the weather stopped us from proceeding with the parade. Our crew had been putting in a lot of effort to make sure everything ran smoothly. And of course, they did an exceptional job nonetheless,” said formation coordinator, Brady Skinner.

The parade is an event that many families look forward to each year. Residents were disappointed with the cancellation of the annual parade, but are hoping for the success of next year’s.

“I look forward to going [to the parade] every year with my friends and family, it’s our tradition. I was hoping they would reschedule it this year, but they didn’t. Hopefully they’ll go through with it next year, though,” said Waylon Hopkins (‘25).