Season’s magic to illuminate Ronan’s Parade of Lights
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RONAN — Candy canes, Wolf season continues to March 15 twinkling lights and snowflakes above a street lined with eager children anticipating a shower of candy and the arrival of Santa may seem like a scene from a movie, but it will be reality Dec.16 in downtown Ronan. The Ronan Parade of Lights begins at 5:30 p.m. For those who want to decorate their vehicle with colorful lights and join the parade, the lineup starts at 5 p.m. behind St. Luke Community Hospital. “You don’t have to sign up … just line up and go,” Ronna Walchuk of the Beautification Committee said. “We want to be just as surprised as those little kids.” The children are what keep Walchuk helping with the parade preparations and downtown decorations year after year. “You see all those little kids, see the twinkle in their eyes at nighttime when the street is lit up — it’s just pure magical,” she said. The parade route heads south behind the hospital, wraps around the St. Luke Extended Care Facility where residents can watch through the window, and then turns east down Main Street in front of the hospital. The final float will stop just before the big Christmas tree near Glacier Bank, where the Holiday Treasures drawing will be held. Floats then proceed to Bockman Park, where glowing snowballs will illuminate the park and Santa will greet children with a goodie bag inside a wall tent, “Montana style,” Walchuk said. Last year a good layer of snow beckoned children to play outside. “When they get cold, they go to the bonfire,” Walchuk explained, which is manned with the help of a local Boy Scout troop. Arrive early to park on side streets as parking on the Main Street parade route is prohibited. The Ronan police department will place “no parking” signs out two hours prior to the 5:30 p.m. start time.
No parking on parade route
RONAN — The Ronan Police Department reminds people that there will be no parking along the parade route for the Dec. 16 Ronan Parade of Lights. The police department will place “no parking” signs out two hours prior to the 5:30 p.m. start time.>
