One of the most exciting times of year for Salida, CO is the annual Parade of Lights. The director for this year’s parade of lights is Robin NeJame. The Parade of Lights has a really big significance in Salida. Every year, a whole bunch of people in town make floats that they tow down F street. Then, when the parade is over, they light the big Christmas tree on Tenderfoot Mountain.

This tree is a 750 foot tall Christmas tree on top of a mountain. People like to call the Tenderfoot Mountain  “Christmas Mountain” during this time of year. The tree includes 4,500 lights and will adorn the mountainside from late November to mid January.  

The best part of the parade is anybody is able to join since it is a very family friendly event. One float that happens every year is the Santa float. Santa and his elves help with the lighting of the tree because he’s magic. 

NeJame stated that this year one of the big challenges that they faced was the canceling of the fireworks. Usually, every year there are fireworks immediately following the lighting of Christmas Mountain.  This year there was quite a bit of snow in town on the day of the parade, so some folks in town had concerns because, if the fireworks go off and get wet and volatile, it could become dangerous. The fireworks will come back next year unless there are more safety concerns.

“More than anything, we hope that we have ensured that a long-standing tradition will continue in our community. It allows us to help our community make memories,” stated NeJame.