KING CITY — A community-organized drive-thru parade in King City will take place this year in lieu of the annual lighted Christmas parade.
The formula has been shifted around, and rather than have standing crowds watch vehicles, the community is invited to drive through parked decorated vehicles at King City Golf Course. Called the King City Candy Cane Drive Thru, the event will be on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.
“I thought it would be good this time to be able to have all the cars decorated and parked,” said Elaine Rosales, one of the event’s co-organizers. “It would be easier to have the community drive through us and see the cars and be able to vote.”
The voting in question is for community-donated prizes awarded to the top cars. Rosales said a final voting system hasn’t been confirmed, as they’re working out whether to have online voting or in-person voting at the event.
“We’re doing it for the community to be involved and trying to do something for the kids,” said Bibiana Garcia, co-organizer.
Garcia said the top three contest prizes had been donated, but the group was seeking donations of stuffed animals for a toy handout.
“We have 15 cars that have signed up to be in the contest,” Garcia said. “We still have parking, so if people want to join, that would be great.”
In addition to the decorations, Christmas costumes will be part of the show. The group is working on finding a Santa for the event, as well.
“My kids are going to dress as elves,” Rosales said. “We’re basically going to have a little Santa’s workshop where the kids can pick up the animals.”
Stuffed animals will be available at the end of the row of vehicles, where Santa’s truck is planned to be filled with donations to hand out as early Christmas gifts to the children.
Garcia and Rosales said stuffed animals were the focus for their ease of washing and sanitizing, where other types of toys would be more difficult to clean in large numbers.
“It’s a great way for us to finish out the year with Christmas spirit and get the kids going,” Rosales said.
The Christmas event will be the third community car event organized by Rosales, who started in July with the Independence Drive, followed by the Halloween Cruise in October. Rosales worked on all three events as a way to have community celebrations for the holidays while also observing Covid-19 safety guidelines.
“The first one she came up with was the Independence Drive and there were a little bit of cars, but then the next one, there were more people involved and more cars,” Garcia said.
The community has helped with donations this time, from prizes to stuffed animals to volunteer time.
“A lot of people have been really generous,” Garcia said. “People say they want to volunteer with setup.”
“They want us to keep doing this,” Rosales added. “As long as the community wants to stay involved and keep it going, we’ll keep it going.”
