The cancelation didn't stop the show.
The parade was canceled but processions proceeded as residents did their best to enjoy the 2021 Winter Garden Golf Cart Parade on the evening of Dec. 12. A hit-and-run incident by City Hall at approximately 6 p.m. led the Winter Garden Police Department to call off the festivities, but hundreds of participants had already gathered at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park. And many were determined to make the best of it.
The crowds along Plant Street were thinning by the time first responders cleared the scene and traffic had eased. Golf cart drivers had been given the bad news but as they drove their cheerful transports homeward, many could not resist an impromptu drive past the lingering bystanders. Cheers rose up for every cart that drove past.
According to a post on the Christmas Golf Cart Parade Facebook page, the event raised nearly $13,000 for charities in West Orange communities. The post includes regrets that the parade will not be rescheduled this year, but those who remained were able to enjoy some of the festive sights of the parade that wasn't.
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Jim Carchidi was an associate editor for the West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer and OrangeObserver.com.
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