'Dory' School Bus Wins Best Use of Lights in Holiday Parade

Submitted by Crystal Lake Elementary District 47

For the past 11 years, District 47/155 school bus driver Stacey Balmes has been dreaming up ways to 'dress up the bus' for the Festival of Lights parade that kicks off the holiday season the day after Thanksgiving every year in downtown Crystal Lake.

This year the bus delighted the crowd dressed as “Dory” from the hit movie Finding Dory. The Transportation Joint Agreement (TJA)--the shared bus service between Crystal Lake Elementary District 47 and Community High School District 155--has entered a bus in the Crystal Lake holiday parade nearly every year since 2006 and has won numerous awards. This year the bus company was awarded first place in the “best use of lights” category.

Each year the parade entry is sparked by an idea, which Balmes then sketches out on a piece of paper months in advance. Supplies are ordered, although much of what’s used is re-purposed from years prior. After countless hours and lots of help from fellow bus drivers and their friends and family members, the idea takes shape.

At its outset in 2006, the bus entered the parade sporting Balmes’ leftover household holiday decorations but the idea has evolved over the years and parade preparations have become more elaborate. In recent years, the bus has paraded as a smoking dragon, an adorable sock monkey, “Olaf” from the movie Frozen, and “Chewbacca” from Star Wars. Balmes estimates that there are approximately 7,500-8,000 lights on the bus each year for the parade.

“My daughter asked me years ago why there wasn’t a bus in the parade and that’s where it all started,” said Balmes. “It continues to be a tradition and grows at the bus garage every year because of the teamwork and holiday spirit that comes from building our float. The excitement and reactions from the people watching give us all such joy.”

Visit here to see video of the bus in action.

Image and video via Crystal Lake Elementary District 47