Electric and light two words that conjoin to describe the premiere parade of Old Town Clovis. With truth to its name, floats are built by various members of the community to be displayed. The Electric Light Parade begins with a communal gathering at the rodeo grounds, where volunteers and public service officials direct and check in the community creations, Dec. 5.

When the first vehicles and floats depart they venture out onto the viewer crowded streets. The 2015 parade was graced with a large showing of support and thousands cheer and sang and floats traveled Old Town Clovis streets.

Viewers waited as the parade went all the way around their course to greet them at the finish. A wide variety of vehicles cornered the community ranged from independent off road clubs to church groups.

For the first time in close to a decade, Fresno Christian’s percussion and color guard squad participated in gathering cheers from students and friends as they wound down the road. From the first step to the last corner the marching band carried themselves with an exited and congruent gait, playing their very best to represent FC.

David Casuga, another returning alumni offered his insight as to the performance level of FC and the likely hood of our return to the Electric Light Parade. Casuga, now the percussion instructor, feels his unit is ready for more vigorous marches in the second semester.

“The last time Fresno Christian participated in this parade was 2006,” Casuga said. “I am excited for the students. Not only is this a fun event, but it is good exposure for the school. The students have been preparing for this event since the beginning of the semester. They have written some of the musical pieces that we will be playing, and I am exited to do more events like this one.”

In preparation FC also lighted their flags and drums with colored lights. Color guard coach Alicia Gonzalez believes her color guard preformed well. The group exceeded her own expectations.

“Initially I thought we would do well and that the parade would go smoothly,” Gonzalez said. “After the parade I was proud of my color guard as they were nervous when going into the event. They knew what they were doing, if they tripped up on something they would get back in sync as quickly as they could. Hopefully we will come back next year, this is a great event to take part in, and I know that parents like to see their kids involved in parades.

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With FC being a prominent participant in parades around the community, many students get community exposure. Junior Katie Jacobson, an experienced guard member, is no exception. Jacobson believes the groups hard work showed in their performance.

“Before the parade I thought it would go well, we have been working hard in preparation for this event,” Jacobson said. “After the event I was really proud of the color guard and the percussion. It’s not easy to be in front of so many people. I think that we should come back next year, hopefully we will have more people and more lights. Unfortunately right now most of the marching units are small, and I think that if we were larger it would be more spectacular to watch.”

Seventh grader Cornelius VanBindsbergen joined percussion to take part in parades and performances. Despite his doubts, VanBindsbergen was very happy with how the group did in the parade.

“Going into the parade I expected our percussion unit to not do very well because this was our second parade,” VanBindsbergen said. “I am very pleased with how the percussion unit played we did our best to sound good. I am definitely looking forward to coming back next year, this event was exiting to participate in and I hope we do more parades like this.”

With the marching unit and color guard having preformed only one parade prior to the ELO Addison Fries a 7th grader shares her experience as a guard member saying.

The FC color guard unit offers many extracurricular activities for students to participate in. Seventh grader Addison Fries decided to join color guard to take part in these events. Fries believes FC students need to perform their best at events like these, because they represent the school.

“Initially I thought that the parade would be difficult and nerve racking with so many people watching,” Fries said. “After participating in the parade I realized it was not as stressful as I had thought it would be. I think it would be interesting and fun to come back and do the same event next year. After participating in this event I think that it will boost my confidence level and the confidence of the guard.”

As the year winds down, FC marches in Old Town Clovis’ Electric Light Parade. If viewers missed it, this parade ushers in the holiday season and brings together people and organizations to celebrate local ingenuity and creativity during the holiday season.

For more Christmas features, please read Cindy Lane prepares for yearly light show and Christmas Tree Lane invites visitors, Dec. 2-25.