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Highlands Today

Christmas Comes Alive In Downtown Sebring

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Jon Spiegel puts finishing touches to the gingerbread house on Wednesday in downtown Sebring. Carousel of Lights will turn on Friday at the annual Christmas parade.

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By MANDY SHEETS | Highlands Today

Published: December 6, 2007

The holiday season will kick off this weekend with two events in downtown Sebring – the Christmas parade and the Carousel of Lights.

The annual Christmas parade, which starts at 7 p.m. Friday, has 115 entries this year for the "Rockin' Christmas" theme. The parade starts at Firemen's Field and travels along South Commerce Avenue, around the Circle and then heads along North Ridgewood Drive to the intersection of the Sebring Parkway.

The grand marshal will be Kevin Roberts, who retired this year as human services director for Highlands County and executive director of the Children's Services Council.

"It's an honor and a privilege to receive this special recognition," said Roberts, who will be riding in a convertible with his wife, Debbe, and dog. "The Christmas parade is all about children and families and having dedicated part of my career to advocating for children, being selected is very special."

Local businesses and groups are putting last-minute touches on their floats before Friday's parade.

Freda Long, co-owner of Long's Air Conditioning, said her business' float will feature an "angel-wing airplane." It's an actual airplane with the wings removed and replaced with angel wings.

"We use the plane in our float every year, and we change the decorations to match the theme of the parade," Long said. "We really enjoy being in the parade, and we hope people enjoy our float as well."
Line up for participants and floats is at 6 p.m., and spectators should arrive early because the parade route closes to traffic at 6:30 p.m.

Anyone who is not in the parade should avoid using Kenilworth Boulevard. Persimmon Avenue will be closed to all traffic except parade floats.

Members of the chamber's board of directors will be sitting in front of Sandy's Circle Cafe, at 213 Circle Park Dr., to judge floats on the following categories: best use of theme, best float, best walking group, best group example and judges' pick.

When the first float enters the Circle, Jon Spiegel will flip the switch to turn on the Carousel of Lights. The display will be illuminated from 6 to 9 every night until Dec. 29.

"The main thing is the lighting display in the Circle, which we keep enhancing every year," said Spiegel, who has put together the display for 17 years. This year's addition is a life-size replica of a candy land village, complete with 6-foot characters.

As part of the grand-opening celebration, the Sebring Special Events Committee is hosting a pet decorating contest at 6 p.m. Saturday. Anyone is invited to bring any pet, and members of the Humane Society of Highlands County will judge the show, which has a $100 first prize, $50 second prize and $25 third prize.

"We want people to get creative with Santa hats, elf shoes or Christmas lights," said Spiegel, who also noted a $100 donation will be made to the Humane Society.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit with children every night until Dec. 23, and a 20-minute comical puppet show called the "Singing Zoo" repeats throughout the evening. Children's games, photos with Santa and concessions are available at a nominal cost. All profits go back into the project and are used to purchase more displays for next year, Spiegel said.

The whole spectacle takes a crew of about 10 only two days to set up because everything is well marked, so it easily snaps together. But Spiegel said hooking up the display takes another two weeks.

"Everything is wired individually, so it takes a while to set it all up," Spiegel said. He also replaces bulbs and checks the display several times during the three-week run.

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