A little rainy weather didn’t stop the adults and children from lining the streets for a parade that was hosted alongside the annual Downtown Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 3.

While booths downtown in the area of North Second and Third avenues in addition to a portion of E Street opened at midafternoon, the parade stepped off from Oak and Poplar in the late afternoon. The parade continued to the intersection of E Street and North Second; it was the sixth annual Christmas parade presented by the Oakdale Enrichment Society.

The bright and colorful Christmas lights shined through the darkness and the cold rain and gave the gift of holiday cheer to those who attended the parade.

The downtown Christmas festivities featured multiple vendors setting up shop outdoors and stores extending their hours to welcome the community to the downtown area to shop and take pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus as well as The Grinch. There was also a petting zoo, some crafts, food trucks and more.

The parade began at 5 p.m. but many people were seen arriving early to set up canopies to shelter them from the wind and rain. But the chilly, wet weather did not stop people from showing up to support the parade and downtown event, nor did it stop youngsters from excitedly catching the candy and goodie bags that were tossed and handed out by those on the floats.

The parade entries varied from decorated Gilton garbage trucks to dressed up horses and riders from the Oakdale Saddle Club, church groups to the always-festive Jingle Ladies float.

Even with a forecast that might have made some attendees hesitant, it still brought a sizeable crowd of people downtown to ring in the holiday spirit.

Hours for the downtown shopping event were 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the parade sandwiched in between.