Sisters turns out for holiday parade

Folks came out in true Sisters style Saturday, November 28, for the annual Christmas parade, sponsored by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce.

The event was bigger and better than ever, with 40 entries this year, announced Jeri Buckmann, chamber events coordinator.

"The first parade I did was small and quaint," Buckmann said. "But this is the biggest parade yet. Lots of horses and dogs and donkeys."

Parade attendees agreed.

"This is one of the best parades I've seen," said local artist Norma Holmes.

"I like the horsies," said Eva Valdez, age five, a kindergarten student at Sisters Elementary School.

"She rides at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch," her mother explained. "She loves horses."

Jack Weeks, who teaches chess to the fourth grade, and older students at Sisters Elementary School proudly recognized students in the parade.

"It's a small town, a home town. You know the people. That's what's great," Weeks said.

Local resident Joanne Carlson was on the sidelines watching the parade.

"I have lived here for 20 years, and it's my first time seeing the parade. We always went away before Thanksgiving," she said.

The parade attracts visitors from across the country.

Larry Clark, a visitor from Redmond, Washington, was here visiting his daughter in Bend, and they came up for the parade. "I haven't been here since 1963, when I was 21 and was here visiting from New Jersey," he said.

Part of the parade's grand finale was Santa and Mrs. Claus in a sleigh pulled by two registered black Clydesdales named Repo and Wrangler. Rocky Hegele, owner of American Sprinklers Fire Protection in Terrebonne, sponsors the horses in parades and horse shows.

After the parade, Mr. and Mrs. Claus made their way to the Chamber of Commerce office to meet the children. This year they had a good report about who was naughty or nice. The Nugget was able to interview Mr. and Mrs. Claus before they had to return to the North Pole to make more toys. This year they received some special requests.

Mrs. Claus reported that most of the children said they had been nice and not naughty in 2009.

"It's the first year the kids talked about animals," Mrs. Claus said. "Most of the children said they were nice. The couple of kids who said they were naughty had a smile on their face, so I don't know how naughty they really were."

Santa Claus was very pleased with the presents children asked for.

"A lot of them asked for world peace. They're relating to the economy - want Mom and Dad to have a good holiday," Santa reported. "The kids were very aware of what's going on. I was really most impressed with the kid who said he wanted a surf board for his dad ... and that's all he wanted.

"They're good kids," Santa said. "They're paying attention. They don't want as much as before. One kid said he wanted turkey instead of ham."