It was a the perfect evening for a Christmas parade in the South. Not cold, but with a enough of a chill in the air to remind us it is December.

Throngs lined the streets for the high school bands, Girl Scouts, the Grinch and then Santa at the Greater Cayce-West Columbia Parade of Lights,  Saturday.

Illuminated dance teams cruised in front of youth baseball players and a teen-owned landscaping company followed Frosty.

It was all a part of the show on 12th Street. The parade is the only nighttime event of its kind in the Midlands. It began in front of the Cayce City Government complex and moved north through West Columbia.

Rep. Joe Wilson, with wife Roxanne and Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon and family were present. So were Cayce Mayor Elise Partin and West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles. Both mayors were with city council members.

West Columbia’s Kinetic Derby Day was also represented with its own entry in  the parade, along with the Boy Scouts from Mt. Hebron United Methodist Church.

It was a night of fun to mark a special time of the year.