District Dianne Crawford shares the genisus of the Holiday Parade of Lights in St. Martin, a town where her mother made an impact.
During my club visits I’ve shared a little of my mom’s story and life of service. Back in the 80’s she traveled to San Diego for her first and only visit with us. My son was about 8 years old and wanted to go to Disneyland so we decided it would be great to do it with Mom since she had never been. We packed everyone into the car and headed to the Magical Land of Disney. We happily stood in the long lines, saw every show, rode almost every ride and ate too much!
It was the best day ever! At the end of the day, we joined thousands lined along Main St. to see the Holiday Parade of Lights. Mom was like a child watching the ballerinas, toy soldiers, elves and candy canes dancing by, she was so excited. At one point she asked me “Do you think if I wrote to Walt Disney, he would send me his old costumes so we could have a parade in St. Martin?” I laughed and said no, probably not.
That’s when I learned never to say no to my mom. She went back to St. Martin and over the next year she gathered volunteers to make costumes and decorate trucks with lights and so the Holiday Parade of Lights in St. Martin was born. The first one was small, but everyone loved it. Now 26 years later the parade is over a mile long, the biggest on the island with lots of holiday floats and entertainment Caribbean style. The parade bears her name; takes place on the street named after my dad, gets bigger every year and viewed by thousands. This parade video is taken from the balcony of our family home rebuilt from the ground up after Hurricane Irma completely destroyed it in 2017.
As a Rotarian I am constantly reminded to never doubt the impact that one person, one idea or one group of like-minded people can make. The smallest acts of service can make the biggest difference! What we do matters……. let’s do more in 2025! We are the Magic! Happy Holidays!