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Photos: Riverhead Lions host Christmas Parade

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Santa waves hello to the crowd during Sunday’s annual Lions Club Christmas Parade.

The annual Riverhead Lions Club Christmas Parade went off without a hitch Sunday afternoon as firefighters, girl scout troops and Santa himself marched down Main Street on the balmy December afternoon.

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Local girl and boy scouts troops marched in the parade Sunday afternoon.

The parade, a decades-old tradition, kicked off at 1 p.m., with the Riverhead Veterans of Foreign Wars, government leaders and the high school marching band leading the march along Main Street.

The Riverhead Fire Department and ambulance corps volunteers followed behind, with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the end of the parade waving to excited children in the crowd.

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | The Riverhead High School marching band played holiday tunes as they made their way down Main Street.

After the parade, Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter handed Mr. and Mrs. Claus the giant “Key to Riverhead,” saying that Santa could now get into houses without chimneys to deliver presents to the good boys and girls in town.

See our photo gallery below for more photos from the parade:

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | 3-year-old Jalice Mitchell talks to Santa for the first time at the annual Riverhead Lions Club Christmas Parade.
PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Riverhead veterans lead the annual Santa parade down Main Street Sunday afternoon.
PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Dancers with the New York Dance Center in Calverton perform at the Christmas parade Sunday.
PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Riverhead fire trucks finish up the parade route on the Peconic Riverfront Sunday afternoon.