Like many residents in Okeechobee County, I love a parade. Okeechobee County hosts a number of parades each year, and in my opinion, Okeechobee’s annual Lighted Christmas Parade is the always the best. When I moved to Okeechobee in 1986, the Christmas parade was a morning parade on the weekend after Thanksgiving. It ushered in the Christmas season and brought people downtown for the Exchange Club’s craft fair in the park.

A few years later, the chamber of commerce came up with the idea for a lighted Christmas parade, and the idea quickly took hold. I remember that first year the stores sold out of holiday lights as businesses and civic groups enthusiastically built and decorated floats, many powering the lights with generators. Over the years, the parade grew. Some years, there were so many parade entries, the first part of the parade would be back at the staging area near the (formerly U-Save) Aldi's  parking before the floats at the end had even started the journey north on U.S. 441.

Most years, I have photographed the parade myself. The few years when I handed off that duty to another photographer, it was because I was in the parade, riding on a float with one of my children or walking alongside a mounted unit as a support volunteer. Once, I led an alpaca that had been outfitted with reindeer antlers.

The Christmas parade was a family tradition for us. My kids rarely actually saw a parade because they were always in it, riding on a float, riding a horse or marching in the band. A few years, they wound up riding on more than one float because they were involved in more than one organization that had a float, and their first float made it back to the staging area before their second float had started down the route.

But this year, with a pandemic of a deadly virus that is transmitted most easily from person to person in close contact, mass gatherings have been discouraged. When the city council canceled the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony due to health and safety concerns, I — like many residents — wondered what would happen to the parade. But Okeechobee Main Street (who now organize the event) opted to go ahead with the parade, encouraging participants and spectators to social distance and wear masks, as advised by the CDC.

So on Saturday, as I have so many years in the past, I headed down to Flagler Park just before dark. I did a “drive-by” of the parade grounds first, and I was encouraged to see people sitting in what appeared to be family groups with at least 6 feet of space between groups. I even saw some people wearing masks.

I found a parking space on north Osceola Avenue — a spot fairly easy to get out of after the parade. I plotted a walking route to the main intersection that would keep me away from the crowds.

The main intersection has been my “go to” spot to photograph the parade. I like to use the “Peace on Earth” sign on the corner of U.S. 441 and SR 70 as a background. Usually the only people in the intersection with me are the cops. This was the case when I arrived a few minutes before the parade time. Just before 6 p.m. I headed out into the intersection to greet Police Chief Bob Peterson. I carried an umbrella — experience taught me that rain is not unusual on parade days and it had been raining earlier in the day. I joked to the police chief that I was going to use it to make sure no one came within 6 feet of me. I had been wearing a face mask since leaving my car, but with plenty of space in the main intersection, I felt comfortable taking it off in that outdoor space. Besides, my glasses kept fogging up and I was having trouble seeing well enough to take photos.

The parade started off with the usual color guard. I resisted the urge to shout “stand up for the flag” to those who remained seated as the Stars and Stripes passed. I smiled because the Okeechobee High School Junior ROTC was wearing Santa hats: They have often been criticized for not wearing “covers” while in uniform. No one could make that complaint this time.

As the floats came down the street, I happily took photos and waved at those I knew on the floats. Looking around, I noticed the crowd of spectators was growing as more and more people joined the line along the parade route, filling in the spaces between the socially distanced groups until the crowds packed both sides of the street. Some were even bold enough to move out into the intersection, making it more difficult to maintain my 6 feet of separation from strangers. I did not threaten anyone with my umbrella. Instead I made sure my camera was on auto focus, put on my mask and relied on technology to focus on what I could not see through my fogged glasses.

I recognized many of the regular entries. The Okeechobee High School Marching Band was in fine tune. Some band members were wearing masks, but that was not an option for those playing wind instruments. The Chobee Steelers steel drum band, another of my favorites, was on a float and they were wearing masks.

Many of the floats contained family groups. This posed little risk for them since the spectators were at a good distance.

The parade went pretty smoothly with the exception of a spacing issue. A marching unit from Palm Beach County, new to the Okeechobee parade, had trouble keeping up with the units ahead of them and this resulted in a gap so big that some people thought the parade was over and started leaving. (This did have the advantage of thinning the crowd a little.)

From experience, I knew there was more to come as I hadn’t seen the horses yet. The mounted units always bring up the rear of the parade (unless they bring their own designated cleanup crew.) This has been the case since the year a mounted unit was placed in front of a marching band, and the young musicians had to try to avoid stepping in the resulting “debris” while trying to keep in step and play instruments.

The whole parade took about an hour and featured plenty of lighted floats, beauty queens and horses strung with Christmas lights.

A few of my favorites apparently opted to stay home this year. I didn’t see the Sacred Heart Catholic church entry. They usually have a big unit with colorful costumes showcasing Christmas around the world. I didn’t see Peace Lutheran Preschool’s float, which for years has featured a manger scene with dozens of adorable little angels. I have lost count of how many photos I have taken of Peace Lutheran’s angels. They are always too cute for me to resist. Also absent were representatives of the Seminole Tribe and 4-H groups. I respect the difficult decisions these organizations made to err on the side of caution to keep their members home and safe. But their absence served as a reminder that this was not an ordinary year and everyone on that parade route was taking a chance, balancing the desire to participate in the annual community celebration with the desire to keep their families safe from the virus.

After the parade, I carefully made my way back to my car, easily maintaining distance from others on my planned route. It meant a longer walk for me, but I didn’t mind the exercise. Still, I kept the mask on until I reached the car.

I know the mask protects others from me, and only provides very minimal protection for me against others should they be contagious. I also know the daily infection rate and the death rate is increasing throughout the country. I know the virus is real. I personally know four people who have lost loved ones to the virus (and none believe their loved one would have “died anyway.”)

I do what I can to take precautions while at the same time living my life, covering stories for the Lake Okeechobee News. I wash my hands a lot. I carry hand sanitizer, extra masks in Ziploc bags, disposable gloves and disinfectant wipes in my camera bag and in my car. I use a long lens on my camera. When possible, I cover meetings online.

And everything considered, I think I made the right choice in going to the parade. It’s part of Okeechobee’s history and it was my job to document it. I would not have felt right asking another staffer to run the risk while I stayed home. But while I normally leave the holiday parade humming Christmas carols and filled with joy, this year I was instead filled with worry. I worry about all those people on the parade route, with very few wearing masks, sitting shoulder to shoulder with people who were not in their households. I worry about the elderly and other high-risk family members, to whom those parade-goers might have taken the virus home.

I hope and pray that no one gets sick. Considering how many people were at the parade, how few were wearing masks and the fact that about 40% of those who are COVID-19 positive and contagious don’t even know they are sick, that might take a Christmas miracle. But maybe we’re due for one.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

See the "Okeechobee Main Street hosts annual Lighted Christmas Parade" link below under Related, to view photos of the parade.