Thousands Expected At Groton Holiday Parade

Thousands are expected to attend the 13th Annual Groton Holiday Lights Parade tonight, in which lighted trucks and floats parade down Route 1, then end with a community tree lighting and events for children.

Donna Black said her husband, Tim Black, who owns Timbuck2 Garden Center on Flanders Road, decorated a float last year two hours before the parade.

“My husband does it just because he enjoys seeing the kids faces go by,” she said. “He’s like Father Christmas.”

The parade starts at 5 p.m. at South Road across from the Groton Utilities center and follows Route 1 to the Groton Shopping Plaza.

After the parade, Santa will light a tree on a green at the shopping plaza, and Steve Elci and Friends will provide entertainment for the kids.

Children can have their pictures taken with Santa for free, and students from Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School will offer free hot cocoa and cookies. Grader Jewelers is donating small gifts for the children and Dunkin Donuts is providing munchkins and coffee.

The Groton Business Association is offering cash prizes this year to the best floats. The top prize is $500 for Finest Illumination, followed by $100 prizes each for Best Children’s Entry, Sounds of the Season, and Most Original.

A school bus company will also have a bus in the T.J.Maxx parking lot, as part of the “stuff a bus” program, which tries to fill a school bus with non-perishable food to help local food banks.

Groton town police said residents should expect traffic delays and road closures before and during the parade.

Route 1 will be closed between Depot Road and Meridian Street from just before the start of the parade until the event ends, police said. Residents should also expect moderate congestion on Fort Hill Road between Depot Road and South Road, starting at 4:30 p.m. 

Police are urging drivers to watch for pedestrians in the area, and for spectators to stay on the sidewalks and keep children out of the streets.