There was the time when a float got “stuck” under a bridge near downtown en route to the parade, but thankfully one wise person’s advice to “let a little air out of tires” did wonders to keep things on schedule.

There were the times when parade participants lined up on Lake Hollingsworth Dr. for an hour or two before it started, meaning the only restrooms available were thanks to friendly locals opening their homes.

There were the times people put their camping chairs in the most sought after locations along the parade route days in advance—until the City of Lakeland put in place clear regulations preventing placement until the day of the festivities.

Welcome to the Lakeland Christmas Parade, running 43 years strong.

When you cozy up next to thousands of other locals in the festively lit confines of Downtown on December 5 to “ooh” and “aah” at more than 100 floats and groups of performers, you can thank Anne Furr for her vision and her tireless work, alongside the City of Lakeland and Junior League of Greater Lakeland, to help create an iconic annual event that started quite humbly.

In 1979, Furr, her husband and their two daughters went to the Macy’s Day Parade in New York City, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that Lakeland deserved a parade that matched the spirit of the city.

“I got in touch with City Manager Bob Youkey and the assistant city manager and police and fire [rescue personnel]…and I still remember going into an agenda study meeting and looking around saying, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into?,’” the longtime Lakelander says with a chuckle. “And we got approval from the city, fire, police, etc. and I said, ‘I want to do a night parade,’ and all of their eyes just sort of got big.”

“I got in touch with City Manager Bob Youkey and the assistant city manager and police and fire [rescue personnel]…and I still remember going into an agenda study meeting and looking around saying, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into?’”

– Anne Furr

With the aid of planners from other Central Florida parades and professional float companies, Furr worked through the logistical challenges and safety regulations needed to pull off the first Lakeland Christmas Parade in 1981.

The original parade route included South Florida Avenue, but that route was eventually optimized to keep the busy thoroughfare open, and today it starts and ends at the RP Funding Center. After five years leading the charge, she realized the parade had reached its peak—unless she could find a partner for the city who could provide the enthusiasm and volunteerism needed to elevate it.

“I realized that the Junior League of Greater Lakeland was the best organization to turn it over to,” she says, noting that Donna Cassidy was the acting president at the time for the organization of women who focus on youth education and literacy through volunteerism and charitable efforts.   

It makes sense then that today Anne Furr is a Junior League Sustainer and in the past she served as treasurer and president of the noble non-profit. Both she and the organization have been instrumental in working with the city to grow the parade into a spectacle that now draws an estimated 50,000 attendees each year.

Bob Donahay, City of Lakeland Director of Parks and Recreation, who has worked for the city for 47 years, said it’s remarkable to realize generations of Lakelanders have come to love the parade, and it could not have become what it is without the Junior League’s commitment.

“It started off as just, hey, it’s a great idea, we’ll get together and make it happen. But if you would’ve told me that it would have evolved into what it is today, I would’ve thought maybe [it would be possible,] he says. “It took off because of two constants—the Junior League and the City of Lakeland—and when you’re lucky enough to have the kind of partnership we have, good things are going to happen.”

Furr has just as many nice things to say about the plethora of public servants who make the parade possible each year.

“Our police and fire departments are wonderful, and they seem to love the parade as much as anyone else,” she says. “As I’ve begun to watch the parade now from the sidelines, just like everybody else, you see a different side of them, where you see them joking with kids and you realize it’s a strong partnership with a lot of communication and understanding.”

When asked what first comes to mind when he thinks of the parade, Donahay keeps it simple: Santa Claus, fireworks and the massive crowd. The festivities that his children once enjoyed were the building blocks for what his grandchildren now get amped up for each December.

One of his favorite aspects of the annual event is seeing the creative ways organizations, schools and businesses design floats to match the theme, which this year is “Christmas at Swan Lake”—a nod to some of Lakelander’s favorite landmarks.

“It just blows me away how good some of them are. Medulla Baptist Church comes to mind; they have a good float every year that you know they threw together in a week with really hard work, and then some of the pro folks that we have like Chick-fil-A, [do a great job], too,” Donahay says.

While the Christmas spirit is front and center at the parade, the Junior League’s commitment to education and literacy is ever present.