Bend, OR

Who ever heard of a parade being done in the dark? Sounds crazy because you can’t see right? Wrong! LaPine has Central Oregon’s only night time parade. This is no ordinary parade. Yes there are the traditional floats but all the floats are done with Christmas lights.

The individual businesses and people of LaPine spend up to a couple of months preparing their float for design, lighting, warmth and music. In the end what you see is the endless hours of what becomes their masterpieces of the night time splendor, and these far surpass the traditional lighting found on houses.

Take the 4-H float for example…It attracted me immediately, not only because of the little enclosed fire on the float itself but because of the kids who were roasting marshmallows and hotdogs at the same time while staying warm in the cooler winter air. What a way to have dinner out.

The Light Parade is held the 1^st Saturday night of December each year and starts at 6 PM. The path of the Light Parade is done on Huntington Rd, 1 block West of Hwy 97. All you have to do is go to LaPine and you can’t miss it. For the good areas to watch if you plan on watching from your vehicle, well you better get there 1 ½ hours early. If you plan on walking around during the parade, this is fine to as there are several barrel fires on each corner filled with the warmth of the homemade wood fire.

This is one of the great times in LaPine for socialization, where many seem to come out of the woodwork and the joy of the holidays are definitely felt. This same area is also home to our Frontier Days held the weekend of July 4^th each year. Look for future postings on this family outing that includes even more community activities.