Ocala Christmas Parade announces winners

On Saturday, Dec. 14, Ocala hosted its longest Christmas parade to date, with more than 150 participants joining the celebration. The parade, organized by the Friends of the Christmas Parade, is one of the nation’s oldest and largest nighttime holiday parades, displaying a wide variety of floats, marching bands, mounted units, and vintage vehicles making their way through the streets in a spectacular procession.

This year’s theme was “A Candy Land Christmas.”

The parade committee chose former Ocala mayor Kent Guinn as this year’s grand marshal to lead the record-breaking parade, marking another milestone in its rich 65-year history.

The evening concluded with the announcement of the parade winners, honoring the best entries in several categories.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best of Show: Del Zotto Products

Commercial Category:

1st place: Fernandina Beach Pirates

2nd place: Six Gun Territory/Brown and Brown Farms

3rd place: Marion Technical College

Non-Profit Category:

1st place: AdventHealth Ocala

2nd place: Marion County Memorial Honor Guard

3rd place: The Rock Program

Youth Organization:

1st place: Boy Scouts of America Troops 18, 9018, and Pack 18

2nd place: MCYFL Peewee Vikings

3rd place: Leading the Way 4H

Bands:

1st place: Lake Weir High School

2nd place: West Port High School

3rd place: Forest High School and Osceola Middle School Bands