By Heather Lipson, The Menifee Experience and Menifee 24/7
Menifee residents stopped by the Mt. San Jacinto College parking lot in Menifee for the much-anticipated Annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Parade, and the weather was absolutely perfect for this event Saturday night.
A favorite activity of the night was the real snow that city officials brought in to allow families to go sledding on. It allowed kids the opportunity to sled and make snowballs, and that was a beautiful sight to see in the City of Menifee.
The City of Menifee hosted multiple performances from local youth, including group taekwondo shows, sing-a-longs with the Might Me group, and ballet/dance performances. All of the groups who took the stage have gained their skills from City of Menifee Public classes, which you can learn more about at https://cityofmenifee.us/286/Classes-Activities to see if there is something your family may be interested in.
The annual parade began with Menifee Police Department motorcycles and the Liberty High School Band right behind, performing traditional marching-style music. Many local community-based organizations participated in this year’s parade, including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Total Impact Martial Arts and Gymnastics, and Menifee’s Mighty Me Group.
The parade concluded with a vintage trolley, Cal Fire truck, and the city’s SWAT truck, all beautifully decorated with lights and throwing out candy to the kids who were at the sidelines.
Santa and Mrs. Claus, who arrived by fire truck, were also throwing out candy canes and waving to the crowd. As they descended from the large hook-and-ladder Cal Fire truck, the stage filled with snow, giving the night a quite magical feel.
Santa took the stage with Mrs. Claus by his side and spoke to the crowd, praising them for good behavior and wishing them a Merry Christmas. He even mentioned that, “Menifee made the nice list this year!”
After this, Santa and the audience counted down to the moment of the tree lighting, and everyone cheered to finally see the Christmas display. Santa then made his way to the crowd to take photos with Menifee residents and wish everyone a happy holiday.
