LANCASTER, N.Y. — On Saturday, people of all ages gathered along the streets in Lancaster to witness the annual Christmasville Fire Truck Parade.
Nearly 200 fire trucks from Western New York and beyond slowly made their way through the snowy streets.
For our Most Buffalo Story of the Day on Nov. 15, 2 On Your Side visited the Village of Lancaster, where, to the delight of large crowds, hundreds of trucks take part in the Christmasville Fire Truck parade each year.
We spoke with one of the men behind the event.
“Tommy and I had this idea — let’s organize a fire truck parade to celebrate Christmas and deck the trucks out with Christmas lights. We decided to make it a parade, and it just grew from there,” said parade co-chair Jerry Enser.
And grow it did. What began as a parade with 19 trucks in 2007 has now expanded to more than 200.
“You combine two of my favorite things — Christmas lights and fire trucks. Put them together, and it creates such a warm feeling,” Enser said.
We caught up with Enser, also the President of the Greater Lancaster Museum of Firefighting, at the museum on Friday morning to discuss this year’s parade, set for Saturday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m.
So far, trucks from seven counties have signed up.
“You get to see the creativity each year, and I never know what to expect until the trucks hit the street. Every time, I’m amazed by what they come up with,” Enser said.