- 5-year-old Tommy has been a Silver Bells fan for a few years
- Every year he constructs his own parade in celebration of the event
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
With Silver Bells tomorrow, a lot of people are excited for the holiday event.. and in St. Johns a special young fan takes the excitement to a whole new level.
One by one, 5 year old Tommy constructs what looks like a traffic jam, but it is much more than that.
"Welcome to silver bells in the city electric light parade!" shouted Tommy.
Every year, Tommy waits for this special event to arrive. After seeing his first silver bells parade, he was hooked.
"Tommy just kept watching the recording on repeat and started recreating the parade. pretty much every day," said his mom Renee.
And for the past two years, Tommy has made himself the conductor, announcer, light designer, and musical performer of his own parade. When Silver Bells finally appears on the TV, this kindergartner turns his attention from his own production to the real thing. His father, Brad, says that means the most.
"I think that one of the special parts is the connection between people that are there in person, and people that can't be there, but are able to watch it on tv, and still feel like they are a part of this community celebration," said Brad.
And that connection plays a big role in Tommy's favorite part of the parade.
"The end. When Santa comes," said Tommy.
Even though the parade must come to an end, we all can lean on Tommy to keep the spirit alive day after day.
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