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Los Gatos Holiday Parade

Saturday, December 4, 2010 - The Los Gatos Holiday Parade

All YMCA Adventure Guides programs are invited to participate in the Los Gatos Holiday Parade.
The parade steps off at 11:00 AM, and marches down Santa Cruz Ave from Highway 9 to Main Street, and then left on Main Street, ending at Los Gatos High School. The parade is held rain or shine- dress accordingly!
The parade is very informal, but there are a few restrictions from the parade organizers:

• The parade only has one Santa. No one else should dress as Santa Claus.
• Do not throw or hand out anything from your float.

Judging takes place along the route at Bean and Santa Cruz Ave- when we pass the Judging Stand, give the judges a big smile and wave.

Our theme this year is "Sweet Holiday Wishes".

We'll start with 8x16 flatbed truck (big thanks to Paul Scola of Tioga!) and decorate it with various wrappings and ribbons and numerous mylar balloons to create our best float in years! Tioga will take responsibility for decorating the float.
All are invited to help in the process, but it makes for a really long day as we must have our float in the assembly area by 8:00 AM and the side streets will be closed off at 9:00 AM.

We are number 260 in this year's procession, and will probably enter the parade between 12:15 and 12:30 PM with our float.
We will form up at the corner of Tait and Bachman (directions below) and should be there by 11:00 AM.
There will be a wait of an 1.5-2 hours before we enter the parade, and boredom can be a concern.  There does tend to be a fair amount of activity in the assembly area to entertain the princesses, and they will be in the company of other princesses from their circle.

Snacks are a good idea and the Expedition is not providing any food or beverages.
Each Circle is to provide for themselves.  Suggestions include Coffee, Donuts, Water, granola bars, etc...

Please help us contain the trash. The neighbors don't need us to leave a mess in their street and on their lawns.
Tioga will provide trash buckets, but we need everyone to "Pitch In" and keep the area clean.

Dads:

• Show up at 11:00AM
• You and your princess should wear your new Red Adventure Guides Shirts (festive Red Hats are a plus!)
• Bring your decorated Candy Canes. You are strongly encouraged to decorate them BEFORE you get to the parade- the expedition is NOT providing Candy Cane decoration supplies at the parade site.
• Dress your princess warmly! Idle princesses can get cold standing around in the 1-1/2 hours before we enter the parade.
• Take a bio-break before the parade site- porta-potty bandwidth is very limited!
• Choose your parking spot carefully. By 10AM, there is no parking anywhere downtown. Carpooling is a great idea! Another trick is to park at the END of the parade route (by LG High School) so less walking required when it's over.
• Have Fun!

Circle Navigators:

• Organize snacks/beverages for your circle.
• Organize your parking / carpool plans for your circle.

Directions:

We will form up on Bachman Ave just before Tait Ave. There should be an information booth at the intersection of N. Santa Cruz and Almendra that will have a map showing the physical locations of each parade entry.

Parade Route: