Every year, the Pleasanton community hosts their annual Christmas parade downtown Pleasanton.

This year, the parade will be hosted on Saturday, December 1st. The parade gives residents the opportunity to either participate in the festivities or simply watch and enjoy the Christmas spirit.

“This is a great way for people to volunteer and give back to their community by organizing the annual festival, which gives families the real feeling of Christmas,” said Sydney Soares (‘20).

The parade includes band performances by high schools, Amador Valley and Foothill, by local community groups, lots of floats and decorations, the tree lighting ceremony by the Mayor, and a special appearance by Santa.

Amador Valley’s marching band is one of the best schools bands in the nation and the group has always made it to the final round in their competitions.

“In the Christmas parade, we play a Christmas Spectacular while marching down Main Street. We practice the piece in class and also when we warm up right before the parade,” said Olivia Hwang (‘20).

Amador’s competition cheer team also performs during the parade. The girls perform every year and it’s something each one looks forward too.

“We all love the holidays and love to sing and dance to holiday songs to get everyone excited during the parade,” said Lauren Sowers (‘21).

The band students look forward to dressing in Santa hats and decorating their instruments while the cheerleaders enjoy spreading holiday cheer through a float and a theme during their performance.

Many residents look forward to the annual Christmas parade because it is a fun way to celebrate the holidays and it is a great opportunity to spend time with family and friends.

For some, the Christmas parade unites different diversities and brings the community together to participate in the festivities.

Many children enjoy the parade as Santa makes a special appearance at the end of the show, along with all the floats and decorations.

“I always look forward to the parade here in town because I enjoy seeing all of the decorations and how happy people are during the Christmas season,” said Andrew Laksana (‘20).             

The Pleasanton parade brings the Christmas spirit to life and spreads joy and cheer to many, bringing family and friends closer together. The Christmas season promotes the idea of giving and spreads good ideals to many!