Generations of Winter Park families parade for the holidays

WINTER PARK, Fla. — You can tell a longtime resident of Winter Park from others by whether their family has been in the annual Christmas parade down it’s main street.

“My first iteration is that I was in the parade. My second iteration is my kids were in the parade. What I’ve been told, the Holy Grail is, that your grandkids are in the parade,” explained Betsy Eckbert, now president and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.

Once again, the chamber is hosting this year’s parade on December 8 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Park Avenue.

The event has been held each December for more than 60 years, making it the oldest continuous holiday parade in Central Florida, according to the chamber’s website.

Park Avenue and Central Park are decorated with the trappings of the holiday season, drawing people back to downtown.

“So commercially we love that, because it’s the kind of experience that people are going to come back to, again and again.” said Eckbert.