The first awards of the night included “Volunteer of the Year” going to Rachel Hill and the Chairman’s Award going to the Lundburg Family. The Lundburg Family lead the parade and escorted the Grand Marshal, Marty Claussen, in their antique car.
There was a lot of Christmas spirit throughout the entire parade but the dance schools really brought the energy to help warm up the crowd! Bringing home the award for first place in the dance category was Carlene Nazarian Dance Center from Salem, NH.
In second place was Nancy Chippendale’s Dance Studios in Windham, NH. Following up in third place was Above the Barre Dance & Fitness from Salem, NH.
In the “Special” category there were some amazing entries. From antique cars to groups that turned their cars into magical scenes. Taking home first place was Jeep Girl Mafia with quite the lineup of Jeeps, all decorated with different themes.
In second place was Claudio Arsenio. He goes all out, creating winter wonderland scenes inside his car along with lighting up the entire outside of his car with approximately 30,000 lights. Taking home third place this year was Faith Devita. She wrapped her red pickup truck to look like a candy cane to depict “Buddy the Elf” walking through the Candy Cane Forrest.
Our parade wouldn’t be complete without the dazzling displays and big personalities of our local businesses! Placing first in this year’s parade was Canobie Lake Park. They brought the festivities with some characters dancing on the old trolley pulling a winter wonderland scene complete with a bubble machine! Following the trolley were some of their spooky Screamfest actors and the iconic Screamfest hearses.
Pulling their snow globe gas tank into second place was Palmer Gas and Oil! On their float they had intricate details including historic buildings around Salem. Rounding up our “commercial” category was Casella Waste in third place. They decorated one of their trucks to look like Rockingham Park with horses ready for their race.
These next groups—made up of neighbors, volunteers, and dedicated community members—brought a unique sense of pride and connection to the parade. In first place was a float inspired by Salem’s history built by the Derry-Salem Elks Lodge #2226.
In second place was the Recreation Advisory Committee. Their float included DJ Jim Koczat in front a beautiful Christmas tree and a mailbox for letters to Santa. The Girl Scouts of Troop 51943 celebrated the theme of the parade, 275th Anniversary of Salem, NH, by throwing a birthday party on their float and taking home third place in the “community” category this year!
This year Salem and New Hampshire Schools brought Salem’s 275 years of memories to life through spirited performances and creative displays. In first place the Arts Academy of NH brought us back in time for a performance at the iconic Canobie Lake Ballroom.
The Birches Academy of Academics & Art secured second place with a float that brought us into the classroom with them and Professor Birches the Bear! The students at the Fisk Elementary School created a railway car that displayed photos of historic performances from the Canobie Lake Ballroom and Rockingham Park capturing the third-place title in the “schools” category!
Rounding out the awards ceremony for the parade was the winner for the “Best in Parade.” The judges rated the floats and displays in the parade on a 1-5 scale basis, 5 being perfect. The entries had to follow the theme of the parade as well as show effort and creativity. At the end of the parade the judges tallied up their scores and found that one group had a perfect score. Taking home the “Best in Parade” award for the 2025 Holiday Parade was the Derry-Salem Elks Lodge #2226!
Congratulations to all award winners! To watch the parade awards be sure to click here and don’t forget to catch the parade and awards replaying on SCTV channel 16!
Thank you to the 2025 Holiday Parade Committee for putting together a wonderful parade!
