ANSONIA — There were 47 entries this year in the Ansonia Lighted Tractor Parade, held Saturday night.
“Several of those were day-of participants, which makes parade line-up interesting,” said Erica Wentworth of Ansonia Community Pride, which organized the event.
Susie Singer, member of Ansonia Community Pride, did the announcing for the parade, which lasted nearly an hour.
According to Wentworth, the Combs family had the parade entry with the most lights—11,156.
All of the entry fees for the parade go to an organization of the group’s choice, and this year’s selection was the Ansonia Volunteer Fire Department.
“Not only do they do so much for our town, but they are always willing to help our group with any project we have,” Wentworth said. “We are so happy that we were able to raise $1,000 for them this year.”
Mora Menzie sang the National Anthem prior to the start of the parade.
“We did have a kettle corn vendor set-up,” Wentworth said. “The fire department was open for warming up pre-parade. The Ansonia Community Center hosted a Toy Lighted Tractor Christmas parade. Ashes to Beauty and Under the Willow Tree were open late, and Better You Boutique was set up also.”
In addition to Wentworth, Ansonia Community Pride community members are: Jessica Riffle, Amber Gelhaus, Crystal Gibbs, Sarah Edwards, Sara Smith, Abby Evers, Ted Atkins, Stephanie Atkins, Christa Everman, Jill Beam and Susie Singer.
“Extra parade help volunteers were Erin Horst, who helped with marketing of the parade and does a tremendous job; Justin Shuttleworth, who helped with sound and parade line-up and safety; and Beth Turner, who did Facebook live for the group,” said Wentworth. “We would also like to thank Larry Campbell and the First Church of God for use of the parking lot and help during line-up; Mora Menzie for singing the National Anthem; Ansonia Police Department and the Ansonia Volunteer Fire Department for help with the parade route; Village of Ansonia and the Village Administrator Tom Welbaum for help with closing the road and parade logistics; Ansonia Local Schools for use of their parking lot and supporting the parade; Casey’s for dimming their lighting to make the parade extra magical; the Whistle Stop for helping with advertisement; the Barga Family for loaning us extra lighting to help keep everyone safe; and the Ansonia Youth League for use of their signage.”
She went on, “We are so thankful for our small town and everyone’s willingness to help out. We would also like to thank the participants. We were amazed at all of the time, money and creativity put into the entries this year.”
Accepted for the second annual event were lawn mowers, ATVs, RTVs, large trucks and other agriculturally-related vehicles to decorated with lights and driven. It was open to any individual or organization.
Video of the parade can be found on Ansonia Community Pride’s Facebook page.
