Christmas parade won't rain on sausage fry
Visitors Bureau will postpone parade, opening of Christmas Village by one week
YUMA, ARIZONA – So as not to step on an older tradition, the Yuma Visitors Bureau will delay the start of a new one by postponing the Dorothy Young Memorial Electric Light Parade -- and the opening of its magical Christmas Village -- by one week.
The parade will be held Dec. 10 instead of Dec. 3, with Santa leading the way into the lavishly lighted Christmas Village at the Quartermaster Depot as the parade finale. The Christmas Village will then remain open daily from Dec. 10-23, close Christmas Eve and Christmas and reopen Dec. 26-30.
The change was made because Yuma Rotary holds its annual Kammann sausage fry Dec. 3. This long-standing Yuma favorite draws thousands and is a major fundraiser for the civic group.
“There wasn’t a conflict before because the Electric Light Parade was normally the second Friday in December,” said Susan Sternitzke, YVB interim executive director. “When we moved the parade up, we overlooked it was also the sausage fry date.
“We didn’t want our parade to rain on their event,” Sternitzke added, “especially since we hope to get support for the Christmas Village and other projects from Yuma Rotary and other community groups. Changing the date was just the right thing to do.”
The Christmas Village will feature walk-in-sized playhouses depicting stores, a church, a gingerbread cottage, Santa’s Workshop and historic Yuma attractions – complete with an ice-skating rink in the middle of the town square. Along with festive decorations and lighting throughout the 10-acre park, the Christmas Village will offer a daily schedule of entertainment, pageants, concerts, cooking and craft classes and more. Specific plans for activities during the “encore” week beginning the day after Christmas are still in the works.
“Being open during the holiday week when all the kids are out of school will give folks a great chance to come out and try the ice rink if they were too busy before Christmas,” Sternitzke said. “We’ll change up some of the activities for that last week and just make it a low-key chance to see all the beautiful lights and decorations, explore the playhouses -- and get out there and ice skate!”
In the meantime, YVB is still looking for sponsors, vendors and volunteers to support both the Electric Light Parade and the Christmas Village. For more information about opportunities to help out, please call YVB at 928-376-0100.
Yuma Visitors Bureau markets the Yuma area within the travel and tourism industry and to the general public. The nonprofit is funded in part by City of Yuma hospitality tax revenues.
Direct travel spending in Yuma County totaled more than $577 million in 2009 and supported nearly 6,000 jobs. Travel spending in the county also generated more than $36 million in state and local taxes.
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Ann Walker, 928-376-0100 (office), 928-210-9044 (cell), ann@visityuma.com
202 S. 1st Avenue, Suite 202, Yuma, Arizona 85364 / www.visityuma.com
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