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Team, who will conduct activities and contests. Vendors will also fill the streets between the stages offering crafts and food. “Some folks do holiday shopping,” explains city of Chandler Special Events Coordinator Hermelinda Llamas. The event will also feature inflatables and bounce houses for a nominal fee, as well as pony rides and pictures with Santa Claus. John Stewart, a member of the Chandler Lions Club, says his organization has helped with the parade, as well as run the Santa House, for years. He has played Santa Claus for the past 15 years. “We take free pictures for the kids,” Stewart says about the Lions Club. About 1,000 pictures are taken the first night of the Santa House. He enjoys portraying Santa because he loves the kids and hearing their Christmas wishes. “Some of them ask to bring their dad home from overseas,” Stewart says. “It just rips your heart out.” Youngsters can also visit the Santa House from 5 to 8 p.m. Thu., Dec. 12, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sat., Dec. 14, and Sat., Dec. 21. Entertainment will be available on those days as well. For the first time, the event will include a snow globe in which visitors can take pictures, Llamas says. “A lot of folks will be excited about trying that out his year,” she says. The Parade of Lights, which includes 65 entrees this year, will start at 7 p.m. It will begin at the corner of Arizona Avenue and Frye Road and continue to Buffalo Street
SANTA HOUSE: Santa will make an appearance during the 57th annual Tumbleweed TreeLighting Ceremony and the 24th annual Parade of Lights Sat., Dec. 7. The Santa House is located in front of the Tumbleweed Tree providing opportunities for the youngsters to have their pictures taken with Santa. Submitted photo
and Arizona Avenue in downtown Chandler before making a loop back south. Stewart says between 30,000 and 40,000 people typically gather downtown for the parade. He explains that he sees 10 people deep alongside the road watching throughout the whole parade route. The slots for the parade entries were filled by Aug. 28, instead of the usual Oct. 1.
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“Typically every year we open up on the first of July and fill up the first of October,” Llamas says about the submitted applications. A tradition that began in 1957, the annual Tumbleweed Tree-Lighting Ceremony, includes participation from many community members who call the city of Chandler when they find a tumbleweed for the community’s unique Christmas tree. “It’s fun to see how many people want to be involved,” she says. The tumbleweeds used for the tree is collected from residents’ yards and incorporated areas of the city when cleanup is being done. “Wherever we can find them and pick them up,” she says they will. “We use them and recycle them, so they don’t go flying into the streets.” The Tumbleweed Tree, which is approximately 25 feet tall, uses 1,500 to 2,000 tumbleweeds for its assembly on the wire frame. “It’s quite unique and different from other Christmas trees,” Llamas explains. It also incorporates 25 gallons of white paint and 20 gallons of flame retardant, 65 pounds of glitter and 1,200 holiday lights. The Chandler Parks and Recreation Department spends three weeks assembling the entire tree. “It’s quite an undertaking,” Llamas says. “Parks and Rec does a fabulous job.”
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Newsletter available online The Chandler Chamber newsletter for November is out and available for online viewing. Check out the newsletter regularly to discover new local businesses, browse job postings, find out what’s trending in Chandler, explore networking opportunities and more. Featured this month: new staff at the Chandler Chamber, upcoming small business workshops and individuals around the community honored for their dedication and service to the city. To receive the Chandler Chamber newsletter regularly, visit chandlerchamber.com and click “Sign up for our newsletter.”
Meghan McCoy is the Neighbors and Business section editor for the SanTan Sun News. She can be reached at meghan@ santansun.com.
2013
Celebrating 11 years of service.