Flurry of holiday fun Saturday in Lathrop
Manteca’s holiday events came over the course of one week.
Not Lathrop’s. They’re going big on Saturday – squeezing in the city’s annual Breakfast with Santa, the annual holiday parade and the community tree lighting ceremony, all in the same 10-hour block.
Here are the times and places that you can enjoy Christmas fun with the rest of the Lathrop community:
• BREAKFAST WITH SANTA: Sure, he brings presents and parks his sleigh on the lawn, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t use some bacon and eggs every once in a while. This is that chance to share that with the jolly man in red, and for kids to do the same. The event will be held on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. inside of the Scott Brooks Gymnasium at the Lathrop Community Center on 5th Street. Tickets are $4 if purchased in advance at either the Lathrop Community Center or Lathrop City Hall on Towne Centre Drive. They will be available for $5 at the door.
• ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARADE: It’s one of the events that help sets the community apart, and it’s once again going to wind its way through the heart of the community. On Saturday, Dec. 14 at 11 a.m., more than 40 parade entries will start on J Street, work their way onto 5th Street and slowly wind past the crowds of onlookers and families before ending at Mingo Way. The awards will be presented immediately following inside of the Scott Brooks Gymnasium at the Lathrop Community Center.
• CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING: It might be cold outside, but it’ll be nice and toasty inside of the Scott Brooks Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. when the community gathers to flip the switch on the community Christmas tree and formally welcome the holiday season to the community. Everybody is encouraged to attend. For more information, contact the Lathrop Parks and Recreation Department at (209) 941-7370.
LATHROP – It’s like Linda Rose that she’d feel like she wasn’t deserving of the honor of being the 2013 Lathrop Holiday Parade Grand Marshal.
And that’s not at all an affirmation that she’s not deserving.
The lifelong Lathrop resident – who will share the honors with her husband Jerry, a fellow lifelong Lathrop resident – works tirelessly to make sure that the annual Lathrop Relay for Life goes off without a hitch, and if you don’t see her wearing a purple shirt you’ll probably see her in a gold vest representing the Lathrop Lions Club.
She’s at most Lathrop City Council meetings. She’s quick with the smile. And she’s beyond friendly.
So it’s easy to see why she was selected, even if she can’t.
“It’s quite an honor, even if I feel like I didn’t deserve it,” said Rose, who will roll down 5th Street on Saturday, Dec. 14, when the parade begins at 11 a.m. “There are a lot of people in town that do a lot for everybody.
“But my husband and I were born and raised her, so this is home. We love it here.”
It was 1957 when Linda Rose was named the queen of the annual Lathrop Days celebration and got the opportunity to ride through town as part of the parade held every year in the small, relatively undeveloped community. She remembers the route. She remembers the feeling, and knowing that she’ll get to do it again was kind of reminiscent for her – a chance to recapture some of that glory.
The same goes for her husband, Jerry.
He remembers growing up one street over from where he currently lives, and playing on streets that were, for the most part, gravel. Lathrop was much smaller in those days, he said, and much simpler too. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that he’ll get to ride through a community that he’s spent his entire life supporting in one way or another – even if getting named came as somewhat of a shock.
“It’s definitely something that I never thought that I’d get to do,” he said. “It’s really great. We know a lot of the people that were here when we were younger and they’re still here.
“I remember playing one street over as a kid, and back then you didn’t have to worry about anything. Lathrop’s still a safe city like that – that’s what I love about it. I’m honored that they’re doing this.”
