NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
20 November 2004

CITY 2004 HOLIDAY PARADE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Harrisburg, PA—Harrisburg’s annual Holiday Parade drew more than 29,000 people to downtown today, kicking off the Thanksgiving-Hanukkah-Christmas-Kwanzaa Season in the midstate. More than 2,500 participants in 100 parade units, including 22 high school bands, marched in the popular Harrisburg holiday tradition.

“Despite less-than-perfect weather, we were delighted with the attendance. As far as one could see down the initial parade route of Second Street, it was wall-to-wall people of all ages. It was an excellent start to the 2004 Holiday Season,” Reed said.

The Mayor presented $7,500 in prize and appearance monies to the following parade units immediately following the parade at Strawberry Square. Prizes were awarded to the first, second and third place entries in each of five different parade categories.

High School Marching Bands

1st—Central Dauphin High School
2nd—Fleetwood High School
3rd—Dover Area High School

Specialty Units

1st—Cent. Dauphin Trans. Safety Team
2nd—Ephraim Slaughter Am. Lg. Post 733—Youth Soul Steppers
3rd—Humane Society

Non-Profit

1st—Girl Scout Troop 2379
2nd—Girl Scout Troop 992
3rd—Open Stage of Harrisburg

Commercial Units

1st Place—Nextel
2nd—Giant Foods
3rd—REMAX

Miscellaneous Units

1st—Mid-Penn Merrymakers
2nd—Capital City Cruisers
3rd—Kim’s Twirlerettes Baton Studio

The Mayor said downtown and midtown shops all offer special holiday fare for the next six weeks, while on Harrisburg City Island, the City Island Festival of Lights offers thousands of lighted set-pieces and other holiday displays.

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