Venice's 50th Holiday Parade Follows a 100-Year-Old Fire Engine Down Venice Avenue

At the first City of Venice Holiday Parade in 1976, Old Betsy carried Santa and a few children. She was already fifty years old. Later parades gave her bigger passengers, including dignitaries and council members. On Saturday, Nov. 28, she leads the 50th parade as its Grand Marshal, in the same year the city turns 100.

The parade has grown up around her, and it is still a homemade event. According to the City of Venice, every float, walker and decorated golf cart comes from volunteers who donate their time, their vehicles and their decorations. Entry is free, and the parade is capped at 80 units. Old Betsy fits that pattern, since the city credits volunteers and caretakers with keeping her parts working and her wheels shining.

Old Betsy reached Venice before the city's first Christmas

The engine's arrival is a hurricane story, and a dramatic one. Here is the timeline from the city's Old Betsy history page and the Herald-Tribune's 2025 report on her move to a museum display:

1. Sept. 9, 1926: A Type 75 Triple Combination Pumper, which local reporting identifies as an American LaFrance, was delivered to Moore Haven.
2. Sept. 18, 1926: A hurricane and flooding hit. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers then bought the engine.
3. Nov. 4, 1926: She arrived in Venice.
4. January 1927: Thomas Edison sat in her.
5. February 1927: The city bought her from the Brotherhood for $13,000, according to a 2011 fire department history the Herald-Tribune cited.
6. 1929: She answered the Woodmere lumber mill fire.

According to the city, Old Betsy served the Venice Fire Department until 1959. After that she moved to the reserve fleet and kept working. She responded to the 1968 Christmas Eve fire at the Kash N' Karry across from the Venice Theatre. In 1973, both city engines were in for service at the same time, and she covered for them.

Her second career is just as local. In 2012, a Venice Heritage restoration effort led by Earl Midlam and Dorothy Korwek sent her to PRIDE Enterprises in Daytona Beach for an extensive refurbishment. In 2025 she moved into a display home on the Venice Cultural Campus. The Venice Gondolier reported that the public can view her there 24/7. The city names Earl and Karen Midlam as her caretakers, and they join her as 2026 Grand Marshal, along with the volunteers who have cared for her over the years.

Fifty parades in fifty-one years

The parade began in 1976, and the Venice Gondolier reported that its only cancellation came in 2020, because of COVID-19. That is how the 2026 parade ends up as the 50th. The theme is "Golden Traditions!" It marks the parade's 50th anniversary, the city's 100th birthday and America's 250th. The parade also falls inside the city's 18-month centennial observance, which began with the 2025 parade and runs through May 2027.

Interest ran high this year. Applications opened July 8, and the parade hit its limit on Oct. 5, eleven days before the portal closed. A waitlist covered the rest. Each of the 80 units can include up to 10 vehicles, 10 bicycles, 10 golf carts and 30 walkers. Nobody pays to enter, and units don't have to come from inside city limits. Judges from Venice Area Toastmasters Club 5486 pick six winners. Two MCs announce units at the stages, with the main stage at Harbor Drive and W. Venice Avenue and a second stage at Nokomis Avenue and W. Venice Avenue.

Because every unit is a volunteer group, the city is upfront about how the night flows:

"If you notice a gap here and there, it simply means our units are excited, energized, and showing off their holiday spirit."

That's from the city's parade page. This year the city is also using parade ushers to keep units moving, and it still needs sponsors, ushers and volunteers. One house rule matters most if you bring children. The city does not allow candy or trinkets to be thrown from floats. Participants can walk them over and hand them out.

The route closes at 2 p.m., four and a half hours before step-off

The parade steps off at 6:30 p.m. from W. Venice Avenue and Avenue des Parques, near City Hall and Hecksher Park. It heads east on W. Venice Avenue, turns south on Nokomis Avenue, then turns right on Turin Street and finishes near Riviera Street by W. Blalock Park. The city puts the route at about one mile.

Roads along the route close to all traffic at 2 p.m. W. Venice Avenue is shut from U.S. 41 to Park Boulevard, and the side streets that cross Nokomis Avenue close as well, including Miami Avenue, Pensacola Road, Milan Avenue and Turin Street. The city's suggested detours are Tampa Avenue and San Marco Drive. If you live on Venice Island, the Circus Bridge stays open. Traffic on the W. Venice Avenue Bridge will be diverted. Starting at 6 p.m., drivers at the North/KMI bridge will be diverted under the bridge and back to the U.S. 41 Bypass.

Public parking is first come, first served. City Hall has no parking.

The Venice Cultural Campus at 300 S. Nokomis Ave is pass-only. Its south lot is reserved for Elf Dash runners, and its north lot is for city staff and volunteers. The Cultural Campus is also where Old Betsy lives the rest of the year, a short walk from the finish line.

Who goes down the route before Old Betsy

The first group on the asphalt is running. My Favorite Race Events' Elf Dash starts at 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 28. It's in its third year and runs 0.9 miles of the parade route. Registration costs $25, closes at 6 p.m. on Nov. 27, and spots are limited. Runners have 20 minutes to cross the finish line.

To pick a spot, use the city's viewing map. You can watch from both sides of Nokomis Avenue between W. Venice Avenue and Turin Street, and from both sides of Turin Street out to Riviera Street. On W. Venice Avenue, the westbound lane is open to spectators from Nokomis Avenue to Harbor Drive, and the eastbound lane is open from Harbor Drive to Avenue des Parques. The eastbound lane between Harbor Drive and Nokomis Avenue is off-limits because it is the emergency access route and the area for public safety drone operations. If you're staying home, the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce live stream starts around 6 p.m.

Downtown activities start as early as 2 p.m. That leaves a long afternoon to fill once you've parked. These downtown spots on and just off the route appeared in Visit Venice's 2026 event listings:

• Café Venice, 101 W. Venice Ave
• Seed and Bean Market, 116 W. Venice Ave, which hosted a lunch with Santa during Christmas in July
• Made in Italy, 117 W. Venice Ave
• Venice Wine & Coffee Company, 201 W. Venice Ave, another July lunch-with-Santa host
• Venice Avenue Creamery, 249 W. Venice Ave, which served peppermint ice cream at that July event
• Daiquiri Deck, 300 W. Venice Ave
• Trattoria Da Mino, 335 W. Venice Ave
• Abby's on Miami, 220 Miami Ave W, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Bodrum Restaurant, 225 Miami Ave W
• Burgundy Square Cafe, 227 Miami Ave W, across from a public lot the city lists for parade parking

Most of the Miami Avenue spots sit between the two stages, a block off the parade's turn onto Nokomis Avenue.

The season starts at Centennial Park the night before

Thanksgiving weekend has two big nights in a row downtown. On Friday, Nov. 27, Venice MainStreet hosts the Mayor's Hometown Christmas tree lighting from 5 to 7 p.m. at Centennial Park, 200 W. Venice Ave. That's also one of the parking lots you'll use the next evening. After that, the downtown calendar fills most of December:

• Dec. 3, 5 to 8 p.m.: Venice MainStreet's Christmas Walk on Miami, Tampa and West Venice avenues, with a holiday line dance at the Centennial Park Gazebo from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Dec. 5, 6 p.m.: The Venice Christmas Boat Parade on the Intracoastal Waterway.
• Dec. 9 to 22: Venice Theatre's A Christmas Carol at the Raymond Center Theatre, 140 Tampa Avenue West. Evening shows are at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with 2 p.m. matinees on weekends.
• Dec. 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: VABI's holiday evening with falling snow and visits with Santa. Visit Venice lists the VABI holiday tree at the Monty Andrews Arboretum in West Blalock Park, the same park where the parade ends.
• Dec. 18 to 20: The Venice Symphony's A Holiday Celebration at the Venice Performing Arts Center, 1 Indian Ave, Building 5. Performances are Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 19 at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Dec. 20 at 3:30 p.m.

The symphony's address is the campus that also serves as Venice High School parade parking on Nov. 28. Between that campus, Centennial Park and the Cultural Campus where Old Betsy sits on display, most of Venice's holiday season fits within a short drive of downtown.

Christine Spelman loves the Venice weekends that bring the whole downtown out, and the 50th parade will be one of them. If you're thinking about what your Venice home is worth, or where you might want to watch next year's parade from, schedule a free consultation and home valuation with Christine. She'll walk you through what she sees in the market, without the hard sell.