Eager crowd watches Oroville’s annual Parade of Lights – Paradise Post

OROVILLE — A late-autumn chill Saturday evening didn’t sap the enthusiasm of thousands of spectators who lined the streets of downtown Oroville for the 29th annual Oroville Chamber of Commerce Parade of Lights.

Quite the opposite; enthusiasm was so high that while parade organizers expected approximately 50 entries, they were thrilled when they received 70.

Amber Miland, the chamber’s communications director, said there were about 8,500 people in attendance at the 2022 parade and that organizers anticipated at least that many this year.

Saturday’s parade theme was “Holiday Extravaganza — Christmas Through the Year.” Many of the entries had Santa Claus incorporated into their displays, but some of them were oriented toward summertime despite the time of year.

Entries covered the range of groups and businesses in Oroville, from youth sports organizations and clubs to performing arts, from student bands to government agencies such as Butte County Probation Department and Cal Fire-Butte County. Almost all of the vehicles and trailers in the parade were festooned with Christmas lights.

Dean Gurr served as the parade’s grand marshal, representing the Rotary Club’s Oroville Lights Project. By way of fundraising and donations, in addition to its members’ labors, the club seeks to install lights on the Table Mountain Bridge over the Feather River, just north of downtown.

A sign of life

After the 110-year-old sign on the former City of Paris building was re-installed in late November following refurbishing, the sign was turned on for the first time during a brief ceremony at the building, 1474 Myers St.

Brian Wong, owner of The Union restaurant and Tong Fong Low, delivered a few brief remarks after Butte County Historical Society board member Daniel Ballard addressed the crowd about the building’s history and its original tenant, Ellsworth Meyer, owner of the City of Paris dry goods and clothing store.

Meyer built the two-story facility in 1913. It housed several professional offices on the second floor.

The building has been vacant since 2011, but Wong — who bought the structure last year — plans to open a “shared workspace” office with rented space available for business owners. He hasn’t set a schedule for when the work will be done, but construction and refurbishing continues apace inside.

Saturday’s re-lighting was a symbolic step toward the continued revitalization of downtown Oroville.

“This is another milestone,” he said. “Everything we do, it all adds up. Something as simple as a sign is one step.”

Wong added: “We haven’t set a timeline” for opening the workspace office, but “we’re getting ideas finalized. We’re getting a clear picture of what we want to do.”

Ballard said the BCHS has a “flapper” dress from the 1920s, with a City of Paris tag inside, as well as an early 20th-century hat, still inside its box inscribed with “City of Paris” on the lid. Ballard said the organization would arrange to have the items on display inside the workspace office once it opens.

Historical playthings

Earlier, children had the opportunity to meet Santa Claus, make old-style Christmas crafts and learn about how 19th-century settlers celebrated Christmas at the Pioneer History Museum, 2332 Montgomery St.

Museum docent Dawson Westurn offered a series of 10-minute presentations on the “Toys and Traditions of Yesteryear.”

Children in attendance were able to spend some time at craft stations in the main gallery making holiday gifts including tin art ornaments, quill pen Christmas cards, “God’s eyes” ornaments, clothespin reindeer and wooden Christmas ornaments.

If they visited the Butte County Historical Society headquarters and museum at 1749 Spencer Ave., children would have also been able to view antique toys from the BCHS collection, as well as items loaned to the museum by society members.