LARGO — Against a backdrop of downtown transformation, the city’s Old Fashioned Christmas Parade served as a festive throwback Dec. 20, as crowds lined the blocks-long loop off of West Bay Drive on an idyllic Saturday afternoon.
While the district between Clearwater-Largo Road and Missouri Avenue experiences immense growth, anchored by the Horizon West Bay project featuring the new Largo City Hall opening this spring, the more than 20-year-old parade continues attracting people of all ages.
Before leading a procession featuring a record number of entrants, including a handful of Grinches, several dogs and a gaggle of Jeeps, Mayor Woody Brown conducted a pre-parade pep talk that included some solid advice for throwing candy and beads into the crowd.
“Aim for the ground, not the face,” Brown told the group, advice that seemed obvious participants witnessed bite-sized candies and strings of bedazzled beads striking heads and noses.
So, parade-goers, remember the mayor’s words of wisdom next year: keep those throws low.