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Ashland celebrates Festival of Lights photo by Bob Pennell Ashland Festival of Lights volunteer Dana Welsh watches festivities in the Ashland plaza Friday evening. By Dani Dodge of the Mail Tribune ASHLAND -- In her Santa hat and red raincoat with zebra-print lining, Dana Welsh was a natural directing the Festival of Light parade. Banner-carriers, a Mary-and-Joseph-team and their donkey, and the Hamazons, a female comedy-improv troop in wild hats and antlers, all sought out her advice about where to line up before the parade. And when another parade organizer noted the Hamazons needed a truck, Welsh started scanning the streets for an empty pickup. "Yeah, they do," Welsh said. "They have those antlers, they could be dangerous." They were soon piled into the back of a pickup. With Welsh's help, the cool efficiency of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce staff, and cooperation from Mother Nature, Ashland's Festival of Light celebration went off without a hitch Friday. Although the streets were still wet with afternoon rain, the evening began with a 31-entry parade under a starry sky. Police estimated about 8,000 people attended the festival. Many danced and sang as they wandered down main street. After the parade, Santa went to the balcony of Alex's Plaza Restaurant and counted down to the illumination of thousands of twinkle lights draped over downtown businesses. Carols and performances followed on a stage in the plaza. Sage Whorton, 5, wore a tiny Santa suit to attend the celebration with his mother and grandmother. The Ashland boy hasn't missed one Festival of Light in his whole life, his mother said. "It's fun," he said swaying to music as the Phoenix High School marching band went by. "The clown squeezed the little funny loud thing (horn) at my nose. ... I touched a llama. ... They throw candy." Sage's mom, 22-year-old Brooke Whorton, said the Festival of Light is just one of those events that adds something special to the holidays. "I think it's important to have parades," she said. "It gets people together." Welsh, who was one of several volunteers working Friday, is no newcomer to the parade scene. A steadfast and enthusiastic chamber volunteer, she was this year's Fourth of July chairwoman, and also took over as parade chairwoman when the designated volunteer had to drop out. She's worked on most of the Fourth of July parades since the early 1990s, and this was her second Festival of Light duty. "It's just such a thrill when the lights pop on," Welsh said. "It just gets you in the spirit and gets the holiday ball rolling." Although the 38-year-old mother of two lives in Medford, she grew up in Ashland and co-owns her family's Ashland business, Artisan Press. Chamber executive director Sandra Slattery is amazed by Welsh's dedication. "She grew up with that small town Ashland in her heart," Slattery said. "Now that she's grown up, she gives and gives and gives." But her budding volunteerism didn't grow out of the first blush of perfection in her first Fourth of July parade. "The first year it was like someone opened a faucet and poured it on me -- I found out about things after they were supposed to be done," she said. "I cried all day the day before. "But the next year was better." Her family has gotten used to her being on the phone and computer for endless hours before each event, they say. Her son Nick, 12, said his older brother Jason pitches in and cooks when mom gets too busy. Nick doesn't mind because his brother can cook better than mom, he said. And like the rest of the family, Nick shows up at each event. Carries banners when necessary. And loves the parades. "They're cool," he said over the din of parade entries getting ready for their march Friday. "I'm the Rat King, I need a sword," shouted one young man riding in the back of a pickup marked "Nutcracker". Welsh just kept on checking her clipboard and getting the fire trucks and lighted llamas in line. "Once it starts and everyone is so happy, you forget all the stress," she said. "It's like childbirth." Every time. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA