Who doesn’t love a parade? Pate staff at Brinlee Creek Ranch in Anna, Texas organize an annual holiday parade for patients and other staff to celebrate the holiday season.
This time of year can be especially hard for patients who are away from home and separated from their families and loved ones. We love seeing the smiles on patients’ faces as they hear Christmas carols played by the Anna High School band and see their therapists stepping outside their professional roles.
We always have floats – yes, we take this seriously! – and the Anna, TX, High School band marched in while playing seasonal carols. The school’s cheerleaders lead the parade.
This fun event includes various contests to see who has the most holiday spirit. There’s a carol singing competition, dress up awards (our favorite was Streaker the therapy horse decked out in bells and ribbons), crazy Christmas sweater contents, and more. We pass out yummy treats to our parade watchers from town and Santa Claus (plural) makes an appearance chauffeured by Pate’s chairman in his classic Model T Ford pickup.
Coming together to celebrate at this time of year fosters not only a sense of community among the Pate family, but also our “extended family” – the City of Anna and our volunteer organizations that are an integral part of the rehab process for so many people.
It’s hard to say who has more fun, the spectators or the participants! We’ll see you at the annual holiday parade next year!