Spirit Spreading in Wake of Parades on Land and Water

A flurry of horses disguised as reindeer ridden by children dressed as elves brought a bit of the North Pole to sun-drenched Camarillo on Saturday for the city’s 34th annual Christmas Parade.

“It was a long ride [from the North Pole],” joked Erin Mulhern, 8, patting her horse’s cloth antlers. “It took us about 300 years.”

The horses followed cheerleaders from Adolfo Camarillo High School, who dressed for the holiday--and the heat.

“We took [our uniforms] off and left them in the truck,” said 15-year-old Lindsay Stewart, one of a group of squad members clad in red and green T-shirts and boxer shorts with candy canes and Santa hats. “It’s part of the Christmas spirit.”

Seeking to tether the parade to the biblical origins of Christmas, members of the Camarillo Evangelical Free Church rolled through town on a motorized manger. Dressed in a flowing gown, Cara Shelton called it an honor to portray the Virgin Mary.

“It’s important to bring the real meaning of Christmas to the Christmas parade,” said the 34-year-old Fillmore resident.

With babies in backpacks and older children in tow, more than 4,000 onlookers converged upon the Las Posas Avenue parade route to see the 103 entries wind their way through town under the theme “Holiday Dreams.”

The holiday fever was burning throughout the county.

In Fillmore, more than 100 hot rods and motorcycles converged on a parking lot for Margaret’s Cruise Night and Motorcycle Rally.

Event organizers collected dozens of toys for needy children, while visitors whiled away the time gawking at the cars and listening to live music.

In Thousand Oaks, more than 500 people visited a display of 200 nativity scenes from around the world.

“The response is absolute awe,” said Roy Thorsen, a spokesman for the Thousand Oaks Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “There are so many different interpretations of the birth of Christ and they are so beautifully rendered.”

And in Oxnard, a flotilla of 40 yachts--decorated in a “Victorian Holidays” theme--motored through the water during the 30th annual Channel Islands Harbor Parade of Lights.

In Camarillo, a very patient pooch dressed as a sugar plum fairy in a pink tutu and wings prompted chuckles from the parade audience. But spectators hushed when four white horses pranced past with their riders clad in fiery-red Spanish dresses.

“I like the horses,” said 5-year-old Vanessa Brandenburg of Ventura, who was wearing a plastic tiara in a show of holiday spirit. “They’re pretty and Christmasy.”

Like most parades, the Christmas pageant featured a convoy of fire engines and ambulances blasting their ear-splitting sirens. It was those trucks, not the bands or the Christmas floats, that captured the attention of 3-year-old Stephen Griffin.

“He’s into police trucks, fire trucks, anything,” said Stephen’s mother, Linda, 35, of Camarillo. “I think it’s the flashing lights and the sirens.”