By: Anthony Bolton, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Atlantic City held its annual Holiday Parade and Market on Saturday, Dec. 13, featuring floats from Atlantic City’s public schools, community organizations and departments of government.
The over 80 groups that signed up for the parade began to march down Atlantic Ave at 4:30 p.m., progressing from South Carolina Ave. to Albany Ave. Unlike previous years, the parade began at dusk to allow for the lights of the floats to better illuminate the city. The first float featured Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. Several of the floats were followed by live performers, including dancers, drummers, and a live band on one of the floats.
Several schools participated in the parade, including Sovereign Avenue School, Pennsylvania Avenue School, Atlantic City Community College, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Complex. Attendants on the street handed out peppermints and lollipops to the children watching the parade. The parade lasted until 5:50 p.m. when Santa’s sleigh passed O’Donnell Memorial Park.
For the first time, Atlantic City included a Holiday Market to take place near the end of the parade. The market was set up at O’Donnell Memorial Park between 4 – 8 p.m. for local vendors to showcase their products, along with a hot chocolate stand and DJ. After the parade, some of the organizations involved returned to the park to interact with the public. The events after the parade included another performance from the drummers in the parade and a jump rope activity done by Atlantic City Focus, a women-led recreational and fitness club.
The official Atlantic City Government Facebook page commemorated the event with a collage of photos and videos taken during the parade, alongside a celebratory quote that thousands showed up to make the parade “the most magical day in Atlantic City history.”
Check out the scenes from the Holiday Parade below. All photos by Anthony Bolton.
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