Saturday Special: Small Town Parades

Carson Valley Celebrates Christmas Season with a Parade of Lights

Record Courier photo

For decades, Jeff and I have lived in small towns that usually celebrate July 4th with a parade that displays that town's quirky personality and local businesses, ending with a big bang. Rarely, though, have we experienced a Parade of Lights as happens on the first Saturday of December in Carson Valley, NV.

On our first dive into this cultural delight, the temperature was at most 30 degrees F. We settled into our lawn chairs on Esmeralda Street in "downtown" Minden and wrapped ourselves in several quilts and jackets. Still our bones shivered with the intense cold. Even the hot chocolate the high school kids were selling behind us couldn't cut through the chill.

The following year, we found a parking spot in a lot where we could face toward the parade route and enjoy a cozy repast in the front seat. Despite the crowds in front of us, we could see enough of the floats passing by with their bright, cheery lights and loud music. It was stellar and we managed to repeat the effort a couple of times since then.

After thirteen years in the valley, we are reaching formal curmudgeon stage. The bodies are not relishing the prospect of a parade in December, even from a heated car. With blankets, scarves, mittens, and gloves. Enough already!

This year's parade just happens to coincide with Jeff's sixty-sixth birthday. How cool to live in a town that throws a parade just for him, right? We were all up for the idea of joining the raucous fun until we drove along the highway and saw lawn chairs already set up along the route.

"It says a great deal that people can leave their chairs along the highway," I said.

"And even more that the chairs will still be there and nobody will be sitting in them either," Jeff added.

Leaving chairs in Minden Park on Friday mornings in summer is standard procedure for that evening's concert. I was surprised, though, that people would do the same along the main highway, which connects Southern California with Reno and beyond. Anybody cruising through town would think what trusting people. Then again, I guess lawn chairs are a pretty safe commodity to leave around. Not much of a fencing opportunity there.

So, we figured that finding a parking spot to view the parade wouldn't be possible unless we staked it out right then and there. We had other plans for the evening. Dinner at JT's Basque, for instance.

It was a bit of a challenge, though, finding parking for that. We thought we could sneak in through a back street. Well, the only back street directly to JTs was one-way … in the wrong direction. Counter to Jeff's usual pretty-close-to-by-the-book behavior, he turned into the street, making fair progress until, no surprise, another car cut us off. We quickly shuttled out of the way then tried to get further.

Bingo! We made it to the JTs parking lot. It was crammed with parade goers. There was an ample space, however, right behind the restaurant that we grabbed. Hopefully the car we parked next to belonged to the cook.

Walking along the street, we found the temperature was somewhere around 45 degrees F. It was perfect for a December parade. No wind. Overcast skies holding in the heat. Lovely.

We threaded through the crowd in front of JTs door and found the restaurant a bit be emptier than usual for Saturday night. Etienne, the bartender, greeted us with a hearty Kaixo! Marie-Louise Lukenberry, the proprietor, gave us big hugs. When she sat us at our table, I told her it was Jeff's birthday. She treated us to a picon. As we finished our meal, she, our waitress, and the busboy filed in with a lit candle in his ice cream and led the entire room in a chorus of Happy Birthday.

Such is a birthday celebration at JTs. We missed the parade and saw a couple of the Burning Man-esque floats driving by on their way home. But it was a great evening with friends we've made over the years.

Photo from the Visit Carson Valley website.

Also, check out this essay about JTs on a Saturday night:

If you enjoyed this essay, feel free to explore more from the Ring Around the Basin Archives.