NEWS

Christmas parade kicks off holiday season in M’ville

Joseph P. Smith
@jpsmith_dj

MILLVILLE - The Greater Millville Chamber of Commerce unwrapped a massive Christmas parade Friday night, jamming the downtown for 90 minutes with floats, antique vehicles, fire engines and five bands.

Earl Sherrick, chamber executive director, estimated that more than 1,400 people would be marching or riding down North High Street. The estimate might have been low.

Music was a major feature in the 2015 parade, with bands from Millville, Vineland, Bridgeton, Washington Township and Deptford Township.

Mackenzie Welch, 7, of Cumberland, waves while she rides in a Cumberland Volunteer Fire truck during the Millville Christmas parade, Fri, Nov, 27.

Sherrick said at least 38 floats, 35 vehicles, and engines from seven fire companies registered.

The parade theme for 2015 was “Home for the Holidays — Honoring Our Veterans,” and for parade marshal the chamber turned to downtown businessman, fire volunteer and Vietnam War veteran Dale Wettstein. The Fire Department provided an antique engine to carry Wettstein.

The parade is an annual night out for most spectators and its draw goes beyond city boundaries.

“It’s like a family tradition — the floats, the music, the lights,” said Angel Johnson, 31, of Bridgeton.

Johnson came with her three children Ahmir, 2, Anasia, 8, and Alexia, 11. Her uncle, Millville resident Heasiciah Fortune, was there to help.

Trent, 3, and sister Olivia Headley, 7, of Millville, wear ear protection as they watch Millville's Christmas parade, Friday, Nov. 27.

“Are they throwing out candy’ is the only question I get,” Johnson said about her children. “They may ask me if I went to the parades when I was a kid. Like I said, it’s a family tradition.”

“I just enjoy a parade, enjoy the floats, enjoy the fire engines,” Fortune, 65, said. “The `kid inside of me,’ I guess.”

Among the marching units were the South Jersey Young Marines, 1st Battalion, 6th Division. The unit is based in Vineland but draws members from across Cumberland County, said 15-year-old Orion Richmond of Upper Deerfield Township.

One recent recruit is Patrick Gilbert, a 10-year-old Vineland resident whose parents were waiting nearby for his unit to pass by.

Ebony Green and her son Ayden Green, 3, of Millville, watch an elaborate float pass in the Millville Christmas parade, Friday, Nov. 27.

“I always used to watch the parade and I always used to think it was so cool how they were marching in parades,” Gilbert said. “And one day I kept on bugging my parents and bugging my parents and they finally said, ‘All right, you want to do it? Let’s go sign up.’”

Parents Chris and Lisa Gilbert are parade fans generally as parents of four children. Their two 17-year-olds were home on babysitting duty with a 2-year-old to allow them to be in Millville, they said.

“We try to catch at least one of two parades every year,” Chris Gilbert said.

“We usually do Vineland,” said Lisa Gilbert, who grew up in Millville. “I used to always go to Millville.”

The Santa Claus in Vineland’s parade always was a thrill for their kids when they were young.

High Street was crowded with spectators for Millville's annual Christmas parade, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015.

“Santa touches something and the lights come on — it’s like God coming down from the heavens when you’re young,” he said. “But I like this one in a way because it’s shorter.”

Deer Nutts, a Cedarville club dedicated to “the spirit of hunting,” was one of the first-time float entrants.

As start time approached, member Billy Whitehead was adding finishing touches — a pair of deer heads — to the club’s float. Oddly enough, or not, chamber members lined up the Deer Nutts float behind the Millville Elks float.

“Every year, we said we were going to do it,” said Whitehead, whose kids were riding the float. “This year, we made it happen. I’m just getting kids into hunting, the great outdoors.”

New Beginning Church also contributed a float with church member Carlos Alverio portraying Jesus Christ. Alverio sat on a throne, wearing white robes and a crown.

Grand marshal Dale Wettstein leads Millville's annual Christmas parade riding in the back of an antique fire truck, Fri, Nov. 27 in Millville.

“I think that float says it all,” Collazo said. “It’s beautiful for the church. Everyone’s getting involved. … We just love Millville.”

The parade stepped off as usual from Harrison Avenue and North High Street at 7 p.m. The finish line was City Hall.

SNJ Today was this year’s parade sponsor, with the chamber naming the 2015 event after the television channel.

Joseph P. Smith; (856) 563-5252; jsmith@gannettnj.com