With the members of the 1086th Transportation Co. leading the way, the &uot;I’ll be home for Christmas&uot; Vidalia parade was a success for the sponsors and fun for residents.

&uot;It was the biggest one ever,&uot; said Cyndie Dillon, member of the Vidalia Women’s Club who sponsored the parade. &uot;It was great.&uot;

And as far as the weather, organizers could not have ordered better weather themselves as it was &uot;perfect.&uot;

It was a community effort with participants from Natchez to Clayton and even one from Monroe &045; the Barak Shrine Temple &045; complete with a Shrine circus clown in a go-cart.

From the levee to Vidalia High School, people lined the streets to see the 47 participants.

The 1086th received many cheers as honorary grand marshals and were even saluted by the judges.

&uot;It was quite an honor for them to participate,&uot; said Cherry Moon, member of the Vidalia Women’s Club.

But others were not to be outdone, as the crowd also grew loud for the members of the Vidalia High School football team, as well as 5-year-old Ada Morgan’s favorite, Santa Claus.

&uot;It’s Santa Claus,&uot; she told her mom as the jolly fellow pulled up the rear of the parade, just in front of Morgan’s other favorite &045; the horses.

But she didn’t come for just Santa Claus; she came for the candy.

Paper airplanes, headbands, candy and beads came flying from the hands of parade participants as they made their way through town.

Through all the many that participated, the judges had to award the best in the large and the small float category, judging the floats on sticking to the parade’s theme &045; &uot;I’ll be home for Christmas&uot; &045; creativity and appearance.

For the small floats, the second place winner from the large float category at Saturday’s Ferriday parade, Barlow’s Wrecker, took home the $50 prize.

Concordia Bank and Trust took home second place and $25 for their decorations &045; a house, complete with fireplace and a tree with presents underneath.

Third place and $15 went to the Vidalia High School FHA and their large display of the frame of an actual house, complete with stocking hanging from the back and their &uot;snowman&uot; throwing candy to onlookers.

In the large float category, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church’s float of a fireplace with stockings, people rocking in their rocking chairs and all the heads topped with Santa hats was good enough for first place and $100.

Second place and $50 went to the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office. What was good enough for first in Ferriday with a flatbed trailer full of children and two Christmas trees followed by the D.A.R.E. train with 10 children, only made second place Sunday.

And third place and $25 went to the town of Ferriday with their scene of the buildings in town all around their truck; not to forget the giant blow-up Santa Claus that graced the front either.

The Vidalia’s Women’s Club &045; the sponsors of the parade &045; gave the money for the prizes.