Hometown Pride Tour: Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade

BOWIE, Texas (TNN) - Thursday’s Hometown Pride Tour stop takes us to Bowie where the Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade is one of the largest events put on each year.

While it’s not Christmas time just yet, the planning for the event is already in full swing.

“It all becomes a competition generally everything we do becomes year after year competition to see the bigger, the badder, the best," said Gaylynn Burris, mayor of Bowie.

In a few weeks Bowie’s downtown will be transformed into a winter wonderland, all leading up to the big parade.

“It’s a day-long event now," said Cindy Roller, Bowie community development director. "We start with elven magic and we do crafts at the library and things like that. We do a lot of things throughout the day: pictures with Santa with the pancakes with the firehouse.”

It’s not just for residents, businesses also get involved by building floats.

“The train that was built last year was built on a trailer with a lot of plywood. So it’s a big competition, this isn’t something that’s built out of cardboard boxes," said Burris.

It’s an event that takes everyone in the city to make happen.

“We have some members that will carry the mayor around in their convertible so we participate that way," said Donna Turk, president of the Piston Heads Auto Club.

“Between the police department helping us with the traffic control, the fire department participating in it and all the other departments, we’ll have in some way or another participating in it," said Burris.

And it’s a special time of the year.

“They stand three people deep on the streets just waiting for the parade to go by," said Roller.

“The Christmas parade is my biggest love of the city of Bowie of all the things we do it’s always been the Christmas parade and for some reason I don’t know why Bowie is just a happy place to be in the holidays," said Burris.

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