When asked what her favorite part was of Saturday's Hometowne Christmas parade, Olivia paused, sitting on top of her dad's shoulders with her Santa hat drooping over her eyes, and pointed all around her.

"I think she just loved it all," Olivia's father, John Reyes, said with a chuckle, mentioning that they recently moved to Sparks about a year ago and this was their first Hometowne parade. "It's fun and the participation from the community is great to see."

Participation was just that at Saturday's parade — great — the city’s special events coordinator Greg Vonschotstein said. Vonschotstein, who had been planning the parade "year round," mentioned that there were more than 100 entries in the parade and while that number is down from previous years, the parade still lasted its typical two-hour running time.

"We just had a bigger amount of people (in each group)," Von Schottenstein said. "It was a beautiful, gorgeous day and I think we had a record turnout."

Drawing a crowd of at least a thousand, the Hometowne parade, themed "Christmas Caroles Come Alive," marks the biggest event in Sparks since the Rib Cook-Off in August.

"This sets the tone for the Christmas season," Von Schottenstein said. "And it speaks for itself, when you see everyone who is involved from the community, people just really enjoy it."

And between the countless Santa hats and dogs and kids dressed as Santa's Little Helpers, families came out in droves, some lining up as early as a couple hours before the parade’s 1 p.m. start.

This year's grand marshal, Olympic gold medal swimmer Natalie Coughlin, helped start off the ceremonies, trailed by numerous Boy and Girl Scout troops, high school marching bands and even Miss Nevada Julianna Erdesz herself.

Horses, dogs and llamas joined in, too, with the occasional clown from the Karak Arabians of Reno or bagpipe player with the Darkwell Queen Renaissance group.

Candy was tossed into the crowd by Sparks mayor Geno Martini and other City Council members, spreading cheer to children and adults alike, as everyone dove for pieces.

"It's just a great time for the kids," Reyes said.