Geyserville tractor parade draws thousands

The frigid temperatures didn’t stop Lala Hanfiro and her family from enjoying Geyserville’s holiday tractor parade.

Wrapped in blankets and scarves, Hanfiro, 42, and her family and friends arrived nearly two hours early to reserve a good spot to catch the spectacular Christmas lights displays Saturday evening. They parked their camping chairs in front of the Bosworth & Son General Merchandise store, just feet away from where the decked-out tractors and semi tractors made their way down the middle of Geyserville Avenue.

“There they come,” Hanfiro exclaimed when she spotted a Geyersville Fire Protection District pickup shooting fireballs into the dark sky. The truck was carrying a hot air balloon basket. A fire engine that glowed from all the Christmas lights followed behind. Then came the tractors and semi tractors.

The parade and tree-lighting festival has became a hallmark for the bucolic town north of Healdsburg. Last year, the event drew about 3,000 people, said Karen Waelde, the event coordinator. That’s triple the town’s population.

Waelde thought this year’s turnout was larger.

“This used to be the best kept secret (in Geyserville),” said Santa Rosa resident Brent Stewart, 39. “It’s not a secret anymore.”

He, his wife, Melissa Stewart, and their three children have been attending the parade since his sister-in-law moved back to Geyserville three years ago.

Melissa Stewart, 38, said her sister holds a large dinner at her home on Geyserville Avenue, directly on the route of the parade, which they all watch from the porch.

“I want to show my kids what it’s like to live in a small town,” said Stewart, who grew up in Geyserville, where Santa Claus also paid a visit Saturday.

People lined Geyserville Avenue as more than two dozen decked-out trucks and farm vehicles made their way down from the north end of town. The parade only made one pass through town, unlike previous years when it would start on the south end and turn around to give event goers a chance for a second glimpse.

The parade started in 2010. A group of friends who call themselves the Northern Sonoma County Locals Unlimited decided to show up with their tractors and trucks covered in bright Christmas lights to the town’s tree lighting event.

“It was so well-received that the community wanted them to do it the following year,” Waelde said.

Stores stayed open late for holiday shopping. For some businesses, it’s their biggest day of the year for sales, Waelde said.

Hundreds of people had dropped by Gin’Gilli’s Vintage Home on Geyserville Avenue before the parade started.

The parade always brings in new customers who then come back throughout the year, said Elisa Burroughs, who along with her mother owns the home decor and antique store.

“We’ve been here since the tractor parade started,” she said. “It starts?off the season with old-?fashioned holiday charm.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.