The Ponte Vedra Community Association is no stranger to hosting creative events that bring the community together.
One of their most time-honored and beloved traditions is the annual Christmas tree lighting at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. The celebration usually gathers around 400-500 members of the community for a live music performance, buffet, and general holiday spirit but with the global pandemic striking this year, the PVCA knew it had to change up their routine.
In combination with the annual Christmas tree lighting, the PVCA also hosts a toy drive for the first responders at Fire Station 10. In fact, one of the biggest inspirations in finding a solution for this year’s lighting was to continue the tradition of the toy drive.
“We wanted to bring joy to the neighborhood, but [the toy drive] was a huge motivator for this event, too,” said Barbara Roberts, president of the PVCA. “We love supporting our first responders.”
Thanks to the support of the community, and support from the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, the Ponte Vedra Community Association hosted a 4.5-mile-long luminary parade Dec. 6.
The parade was complete with nine “floats” decorated for Christmas with varying arrangements of lights, decorations, and music.
A fire truck from Fire Station 10 began the parade, followed by five golf carts loaned from the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. The Inn was also generous enough to donate a fully decorated and lit 10-foot tree that the PVCA engineered onto the back of a flatbed truck and drove in the parade. Santa Claus made an appearance and greeted excited children from his sleigh, which was mounted to the top of a golf cart.
The parade rounded out with a police car, and a truck filled to the brim with unwrapped toys and gifts from the community to be donated to Fire Station 10.
“It was victorious,” said Roberts. “Neighbors came out and could greet each other, people set up tables and had a glass of wine and said hi to one another. It was beautiful.”
The PVCA invited community members to decorate their golf carts and bicycles and join in the 4.5-mile-long parade. At the end of the night prizes were given out for the best decorated participant.
Perhaps the most rewarding part of the evening was seeing just how many community members came together to donate gifts in the toy drive.
“Fire Station 10 was just overwhelmed with the generosity of the community,” said Roberts.
The parade route was aglow with luminary kits, provided to all PVCA members, and the community came together for a night of happiness and celebration.
“I’m just so happy with the way it turned out,” said Roberts. “The big question now is what are we going to do next year?”
