Annual Parade Celebrates the Magic of the Season - And the Magic of Giving

As Royal Oak kicks off the 2014 holiday season with the 13th annual Holiday Magic Parade Sunday, special emphasis is being placed on groups struggling to provide for residents hard hit by the August floods.

The 80-unit parade begins at 2 p.m. on a route that goes from Washington Avenue north from Lincoln to Fourth Street, then west on Lafayette. More than 2,000 people will participate in the parade, which typically draws about 20,000 spectators, The Daily Tribune reports.

The parade is full of holiday magic, as the name suggests, but it’s also an important fundraiser for charities. New, unwrapped toys will be collected along the route, then donated to the Holiday Basket Program sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland & Macomb Counties. Last year, about 600 children and 125 senior citizens were helped.

“Those gifts … help us reach those who may go without during the holiday season,” said Brett Tillander, chief professional officer with the club. “With the flooding this year and a struggling economy that continues to impact the most vulnerable, the Boys & Girls Club’s Holiday Basket Program expects the need to be most significant this year.”

• Tag Instagram photos taken at the parade – and at any other celebration of life in Royal Oak – with #RoyalOak and they’ll scroll across the top of the Royal Oak Patch home page. Be patient; it make take a little while for the photos to migrate.

Jay Towers and his morning show crew from WNIC (100.3-FM) are grand marshals for the parade, whose participants include regulars like Santa and Mrs. Claus and new entries such as the LakeShoremen Drum & Bugle Corps, the Ecorse Public Schools Mighty Marching Raiders and dance music from Party Dip!

More than 40 sponsors help make the parade possible. Emagine Star Lanes Event Center & Sports Grille is the presenting sponsor. For more information, click here.

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Patch file photo from 2013 Holiday Magic Parade