Annual Christmas parade marched on

The Parade of Lights holiday parade along Broadway in Cape Girardeau was ill attended, but enjoyed by those who did brave the weather to see the annual parade.

Short-term weather forecasts accurately predicted that the rain would diminish through the afternoon and at 3:20 p.m. Old Town Cape director Marla Mills was at Capaha Park greeting floats arriving for the line-up.

"I'm standing outside right now and it's not raining," Mills said.

By 5:30, all the floats were in motion headed down Broadway.

The Toybox Run, a one-mile run down Broadway in advance of the parade, preceded the floats with several dozen people jogging by in Santa hats and green and red running gear. Toybox is a joint effort by the Southeast Missourian and the Cape Girardeau Jaycees to provide Christmas toys to families in need of assistance. The run is a fund-raising event for the program.