I just found out Thursday that apparently our entry form was received after the parade had filled up, so unfortunately we will not be able to actually walk in the parade after all. Even though I was told they were still receiving applications when I sent our form in, it must not have made it in time and no one ever called to notify me that we did not make the cut. We were moved to the top of the standby list, but I just checked this afternoon and no openings became available.

So, instead we will all meet and enjoy watching the parade together! After the parade we will have a post-parade meet & greet at Giavanni's in Orcutt, at the corner of S. Bradley and E. Clark. There will be some door prizes raffled off, and for those interested we can form some night-caching groups and grab a few caches afterward.

The official start time for the parade is 5:20 pm. We are going to meet on the west side of S Broadway just north of Pershing Street (which is two blocks north of W Stowell Rd where the parade begins). I would suggest you try to arrive before 5:00. You can park in the JC Penny lot at the corner of Stowell and Broadway. I have changed the coordinates for the event to the new meeting location, but someone will be at the old coordinates just in case people show up there. Keep in mind this is an evening event and it is typically very cold at this time of year. Dress warmly!

In the spirit of the holiday, BooBooBee suggested that we all bring a gift to donate to those less fortunate. I think it is a wonderful idea! Any donated gifts will be given to Toys for Tots. For every gift donation you will receive two extra raffle tickets. Also, all parade viewers are requested to bring a canned good to donate to the Salvation Army.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to our design team leaders - etriley4 who was in charge of the banner and Signal, and jtk49ers who provided the trailer and handled the design/construction. They both invested a lot of their own time and money on this project and did an outstanding job! Hopefully you were able to see us at the SLO Holiday Parade (GC1ZQQX) last night.

Special thanks to Jack and his crew for co-hosting the event and taking care of details in Santa Maria for me, and to Crafty Turtle who volunteered to design the alternative POC logo at no charge. She did an amazing job!

One last thing...it is rumored that both of these fellows will be making an appearance in the parade. Just thought the junior cachers might want to know!