Editor’s note: You can watch the parade video here and read all the winners on our website here!
CYPRESS — For just over two decades, the Parade of Lights on Highway 6 has brought the holiday spirit and Christmastime smiles to child and adult alike with emergency vehicles such as firetrucks and ambulances, floats and other vehicles decked out in holiday lights.
The 21st edition of the Texas Volunteer Fire Fighters Relief Fund’s Parade of Lights is scheduled for this Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018, at sunset.
Editor’s note: We checked with a sunrise/sunset app, and it says civil twilight should begin at 5:23 p.m. For more on the different types of twilight, watch this video: https://youtu.be/FX1slLeJRPg.
With an estimated tens of thousands of people lining the roadway, it is recommended to get to the highway early to get a good spot along the parade route.
Traffic on the northbound side of Highway 6 from Keith Harrow to Cy Falls High School will be shutdown by law enforcement. Conversely, TVFFRF president Rodney Crosby cautioned that parents be aware that southbound traffic will still be traveling at during the parade.
“There will probably be anywhere around 35,000 to maybe 50,000 people,” Crosby said. “The only thing we shut down is the northbound side, all of Highway 6 is not shut down.”
The relief fund relies solely on contributions and help of the community. Anyone wishing to donate to the fund can visit https://tvffrf.com/donate/ or mail a check to P.O. Box 214, Cypress, Texas 77429.
“Any type of catastrophic event in their life or their family’s life, we step in like short-term disability,” the president said about helping firefighters during a phone interview. “We’ll pay anything except for medical bills. We’ve (done) everything from taking somebody to the doctor, holding their hand, to paying for a funeral. We’re going to step in and try to take care of whatever we can to give them that relief — a little bit of peace of mind — to help them get back up on their feet.”
Crosby is a veteran firefighter with 42 years of service at Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and 12 years at Port of Houston Fire Authority.
“I guess you could say it’s in the blood,” Crosby added. “Once you start doing this, and you find that it’s your cup of tea it’s really hard to get out of. One time I said that I was done — it lasted a week — I came right back and been back ever since.”
The parade will start at 16000 Rippling Water Dr. and end at Cy Fall High School.
Although the procession is scheduled to start closer to 6 p.m., the vehicle judging is slated to begin at 5 p.m. Awards will be given at the end of the parade in the parking lot behind Cy Falls High School, where refreshments and snacks will be available for sale.
The parade also has Santa scheduled to arrive.
For more information, visit www.tvffrf.org.
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