Everyone loves a parade

The annual Holiday Parade is tomorrow, Friday, December 7. This is one of our favorites. In the last seven years, the parade has grown tremendously, going from a three minute blink-and-you-miss-it gathering to a fifteen or twenty minute event. We love the way it become an evening parade a few years ago. It is fun to gather on the Square with all the buildings illuminated, watching the parade with mittened hands clutching steaming mugs of cocoa from Cafe Claudee, Chocolate Temptations or Fox's Feathercreek Bakery. With the move to an evening parade, it became tradition for the participants to find ways to illuminate themselves and their floats too, adding to the fun. Precision Drive and Control even donates generators for use on a first come, first serve basis to help light up the floats.

The parade starts at 6 pm. Take a trolley tour of area homes before, during or after the parade. In previous years, the trolley tour just before the parade goes through with the other floats.

Stay on the Square after the parade for an evening of fun as well. Wisconsin Community Bank has children's activities and Santa reception following the parade. Stop in at Monroe Theatre Guild's new building, half a block north of the Square across the street from the library. They are having an open house afterwards. Exercise your vocal cords at Turner Hall where they will have a candle lighted tree and carol singing starting at 7 pm. If none of this trip your trigger, simply stay for dinner at any of the restaurants downtown. There is something for every appetite downtown, from fried rice at Chopsticks to quiche at Cafe Claudeen, hamburgers at Suisse Haus to gourmet offerings at Turner Hall's Ratskeller. Garden Deli, Bullets, Bonnies, Baumgartener's...there are many choices downtown.