News Features

50th Cracker Christmas Celebration Set For Saturday

    The biggest day of the year in Umatilla arrives on Saturday, December 13, when the annual Cracker Christmas parade and festival returns. This year marks the 50th edition of the community’s largest event, with a morning parade, a dog jog, and park festival all scheduled as Umatilla takes its turn in the Christmas spotlight.
   Organized by the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the City of Umatilla, the event features a 9:30 a.m. street parade on SR 19, running from the Southside ballpark area north to Bulldog Lane along the highway’s northbound lanes. The parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m., and will be preceded by the annual Dog Jog, which begins at Mebane Street (Dr. Wallace’s office). Also beginning at 9 a.m. is the annual festival event, which for the second year will be held next to Umatilla City Hall. The festival runs until 2 p.m. and will feature a wide range of craft items, a bounce house, petting zoo, and live entertainment.
   People wishing to join the dog jog are invited to join the fun, as entry is free. Participating pooches must be on leashes and be able to be shown as up to date on shots.
   The Umatilla Police and public works departments oversee street preparations and safety at the event, and on Monday announced that traffic will be rerouted to SR 19’s southbound lanes by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, with parade participants and those dropping off people who will be in the parade encouraged to come as early as possible to avoid traffic problems. Drop-offs on SR 19 are prohibited, with participants in the parade entering the ball park area via CR 450SE.
   The event this year is being sponsored by RCM Utilities, with additional support coming from Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays and Lake County Commissioner Leslie Campione.
   This year’s street parade boasts nearly 60 individual entries, up from 46 last year. Club floats, organizational entries, and equestrian entries are all on the list of participants this year, with a full schedule, parade lineup and more part of a special promotion inside this week’s paper.
   For more information, visit www.umatillachamber.org, or call 352-669-3511.