On the evening of Nov. 28, the streets of Westminster will be aglow to greet the holiday season as some 50 floats — each with more than 2,000 lights — travel down Main Street as part of the city's first-ever "Holiday Electric Parade."

The parade is expanding on the Westminster tradition of hosting a Christmas parade, followed by a tree lighting.

The idea of adding the element of an "electric light parade" had been suggested by Eileen Gist, a volunteer, for years, and she's thrilled to see it come to light.

"They call me the 'electric chair,' " Gist laughed.

"It is quite a project," she added. "What started as a small heartbeat of 15, may be 20 (floats), ... is just growing."

A little over a week before the official production, a warehouse off Route 140 was filled with the smell of paint and the sound of hammers and laughter as float builders gathered to create their illuminated masterpieces.

Themes being prepared for the parade include everything from a yellow submarine and the Eiffel Tower to a tree made of money and a helicopter with a working propeller.

"We've had a lot of floats over the years, but nothing this fancy," said Russ Mills, a member of the Westminster Lions Club, as he worked on a large wreath, decorated with purple and yellow ornaments that will also feature a painting of a lion and a lamb.

Watching Lori Graham, a parade organizer, create lighted lamp posts out of bird feeders for a float that will carry Mayor Kevin Utz and the Common Council, council member Audrey Cimino was all smiles.

"This is so damn creative it's crazy," Cimino said, shaking her head.

"I'm telling people to pick their place on Main Street. People are talking about this. If we don't make the 11 o'clock news ... I don't know," she said.

Organizers believe that the more people who attend the event, the better it will be for the downtown area as the holiday shopping season opens.

As he strolled through the warehouse admiring the creations this past week, Utz agreed.

"People who bring their families downtown ... will view what is there and how they can support the businesses," he said. "We're planning a day that will be remembered a long time in the city for family fun."

From midday to night, Nov. 28 will feature a variety of events, starting with a children's carnival in the parking lot off Locust Lane at 1 p.m., and a showing of Laurel and Hardy movies at the Carroll Arts Center at 2:30 p.m.

The Wishbone Mile benefit run will be held at 4:45 p.m., and the Holiday Electric Light Parade will begin at 5 p.m., starting at Pennsylvania Avenue and proceeding down Main Street to Longwell Avenue.

The tree lighting will be held at the conclusion of the parade, at Locust Lane. From there, children and their families are invited to the Westminster Family Fitness Center on Longwell, where the city's Recreation and Parks Department will host "Santa's Treat," a party for children.

Many local businesses will also stay open late for "Starlight Shopping."

"It is going to be an amazing day for the city, packed with things to do," Graham said. "It's a great mixture of different interests in the community."

Nicknamed the "battery guy" for loaning all the batteries to keep the floats glowing, Mark Degasperi, of Interstate Batteries, in Finksburg, was amazed and a little spooked as he watched the floats take shape.

"This is phenomenal," Degasperi said. "It started out as 22 floats, and as they started adding all of this, my heart started pounding. The batteries will last between an hour-and-a-half to two hours.

"(But) if they get to 70 floats ..." he added.

Graham quickly cut him off with a laugh -- knowing that the parade already has more than 70 total entries including marching bands, animal groups and more.

"It will work out," she assured him. "It's going to be great."

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