RACHEL RAVINA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Santa and Mrs. Claus sit atop the Berlin Fire Company’s antique truck as Santa waves to specators following the conclusion of the 49th annual Berlin Christmas Parade, last Thursday.
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer
(Dec. 12, 2019) The Berlin Christmas Parade has several moving parts to make it the successful event people look forward to year after year.
Organizers, volunteers and participants are all involved in the process. Ocean Pines resident Ginger Fleming, who has been volunteering for the past seven years, praised last Thursday’s parade.
“It just seemed to go off without a hitch last night,” Fleming said last week.
More than 40 residents and town staff volunteer their time to help ensure the parade runs smoothly, according to Ivy Wells, Berlin’s community and economic development director.
“It’s kind of a well-oiled machine right now with our volunteers,” Wells said.
She added that there’s a “solid core volunteers [who’ve been] doing it for the last five years.”
Anyone interested in volunteering is welcome to do so, Wells said, adding that volunteers would need to be outside in cold temperatures and on their feet for several hours during the event.
Nearly 80 floats traveled down Main Street last Thursday and hundreds of people accompanied those entries and walked in the parade.
Wells added that float size and the number of walkers determines how much space is accounted for each float.
The planning process for the Berlin Christmas Parade begins in June, when people call and email inquiring about participating, Wells said.
Prospective participants receive an application while repeat parade entries and Berlin floats get first pick, she said.
Once applications are sent, they are due by the end of September, at which time organizers will follow up from people who’ve participated in past parades.
“We reach them pretty much every way possible with the exception of carrier pigeon,” Wells said.
If they still don’t get a response, Wells said people on the waiting list will get a chance. She added that there were between five and 10 new participants this year.
In the months leading up to the parade, Wells said organizers create the lineup, and gather the judges and participants.
While the lineup takes a few hours to create, Wells said several factors need to be coordinated, including the political dignitaries, fire trucks and floats involving children.
“So, it’s an art to be able to line this parade, to do the lineup,” Wells said.
Wells also held a participant meeting last month to answer any questions.
On parade day, organizers are responsible for assembling the stage, checking with the Berlin Police Department about road closures and posting signs for parking, restrooms and the event route.
Wells also said volunteers are given safety vests, flashlights and copies of the parade route.
“Everybody that puts it on, they’re 150 percent invested in making sure that it goes off and make sure it’s under two hours. That’s our goal,” Fleming said.
To make sure the parade runs smoothly each year, Wells has made some changes. She’s changed the lineup direction to run south to north, and moved the stage to the intersection of Baker and Main streets as opposed to the previous location in front of the Atlantic Hotel.
She said she created a texting chain to make communications more efficient, and had walkers along the parade route to make sure people are keeping pace.
When asked about any unexpected situations, she said the 2018 Berlin Christmas Parade involved vehicular difficulties.
“Last year, one of the vehicles broke down we had to get a whole bunch of volunteers to push it out of the way,” Wells said.
As for this year, she said, the only obstacles organizers encountered was some communications issues involving some of the road closures and a few entries failed show up without giving notice.
“We didn’t know that they weren’t showing until they just didn’t show up,” Wells said.
After the Berlin Fire Company’s antique truck, as well as Santa and Mrs. Claus drove away, and the parade ended, spectators made the mad dash to their cars. However, there was trash left behind that required additional staff and took a couple of hours to collect.
“The Christmas Parade is the dirtiest event the town puts on,” Wells said. “[There’s] more trash after the Christmas Parade than any other event we have.”
Although the parade is over, Wells said about 10 people are already on the wait list for next year’s parade, which will also mark the event’s 50th anniversary.
“Berlin — it’s just a magical town. it’s just the greatest little area,” Fleming said. “It’s a small parade, it’s short … it’s just a great hometown experience I think.”