- April 25, 2024
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Santa Claus waves to cheering fans.
Booker High band members Kaley Maze, Clayton Rusnak and Angel Guzman
The parade had thousands of participants.
Mayor Erik Arroyo with Ava and Victoria Arroyo
Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences cheerleaders and mascots
Kalina Ernst, Andrew Taylor, Olivia Thayer and Gabriella Stafford with the Girl Scout Troop 254
Michael and Jordan Stone
Maria Buzzolini, David Lorenzo, Magnus Lorenzo and Christal Bosser
Nicole Llama twirls a flag in the Mighty Sailor band.
Sarasota High School students join the parade.
Grandma Pearly hands out candy.
Members of the Ladies Oriental Shrine of North America
Kristopher Paul goes all out as Captain America.
Victor Baut
Kashtion, Holly and David Mawer with the Girl Scouts
Circus Arts Conservatory students swing from above.
Matt Martin with Cody, Jeremy Casey and Jenny Minor
Stage Door Studios put on a Rockettes-style show.
Laiken Slaydon sits among the trees with the Foundations Christian Montessori Academy.
Mason Angersoll fires off snow.
Elizabeth Noback, Emily McBride and Jenyel Hackney walk with Sarasota Softball.
Wyatt, Jacque and Mason Bishop
Sean Rankin high fives kids while dressed as a Stormtrooper with the 501st Legion.
The Reflex Arts Dance company
Michael Catalan dresses as a Wise Man with the Foundations Christian Montessori Academy.
Leona McDonald and Juls Veronneau
Chelsea March dances with Reflex.
Julissa Apply, Shaina St. Lous and Jemima Apply
Members of the Jump Dance Company dress as Beauty and the Beast
Hannah, Trent, Chelsea and Natalie Compton
Stage Door Studios put on a Rockettes-style show.
Cherri Kessler rides a motorcyle with Thunder By The Bay
Annie Waldheim
Abigail McNulty performs with the Future of Dance
The Ski-A-Rees group does a tricky balancing act.
Project PRIDE SRQ brings the letters.
Stephen J. Martin-Bennet and Neil McCurry with Project PRIDE SRQ
Nick Polizzi dresses like Miles Morales.
Seneca Puleo as Wonder Woman waves to children.
Misha Nell
The parade was full of snow and cheering families.
The parade was full of snow and cheering families.
Miguel Cardona as the Mandalorian and Kenny Hall as a Ghostbuster
The Grinch gets his own ride.
Penny and Monica Burke with Maria Borjas
Erin, Ava and Tony Krcmar
Santa Claus arrives with reindeer.
Parade organizer Danny Bilyeu and Santa Claus
Katherine Poes and Santa Claus
Santa Claus waves to cheering fans.
The parade was full of snow and cheering families.
Last year's holiday season was a quieter affair, with no Downtown Sarasota Holiday Parade drawing multitudes of locals and visitors alike to the downtown area for some
This year was different. Tens of thousands gathered in downtown Sarasota for the 25th annual holiday parade on Dec. 4.
The parade's silver anniversary demanded a "Silver Bells" theme featuring nearly 4,000 participants.
School marching bands and cheer groups put on performances while countless dance groups twirled to carefully planned Christmas choreographs.
Parade organizer Danny Bilyeu typically starts working on the next parade as soon as the current show ends, but got to work in June this year because of the uncertainties of COVID-19. He said while the number of parade participants was smaller this year, he felt quality trumped quantity.
"We had a good quality show tonight," Bilyeu said. "It's always nice after it's over but (our participants) shined this year."
After a year away, Mark Welicki made his return as the official Santa Claus anchoring the downtown parade. Being back in the jolly red suit gave Welicki a rush — he felt like a rock star.
Both he and Bilyeu felt like there were more kids this year, all cheering along with their families at the sight of Santa Claus.
"You have to love these kids," Welicki said. "They fill your heart up — it makes my heart feel good, being at 200 years old."
The Best in Show award was presented to the Dark Side comics cosplay group, which had a number of costumed characters from Batman to Storm Troopers giving their looks a Christmas twist and acting it up for the kids in the audience.
