Christmas celebrations kicked off last weekend in Immokalee during its annual holiday festival.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Immokalee Sports Complex on Saturday for the Christmas Around the World event on Saturday.
Kristie Pierre was there with her sister, Brenda Martinez and her niece and nephew.
“I think its just nice to have something for the kids to have fun with," Pierre said. "Because, you know, obviously it doesn’t snow here for Christmas, so to do this for the kids and the community of Immokalee, I think its really cool and nice for us.”
Martinez said one of the things she looks forward to the most when attending the annual festival is the concession stands.
"The food is delicious out here," Martinez said. "The tacos are amazing!"
The festival features live music, bounces houses and activities for children including something children in Florida never get to see: snow.
The children didn't seem to mind that the snow was generated by a machine as they threw snowballs at one another. Some of the man-made snow was formed into a little hill for sledding.
A central part of the annual holiday festival is the parade where local businesses deck out their trucks and trailers in full Christmas regalia and pass out candy and holiday cheer to people lining the street.
It was the first time Desiree Robles participated in the parade.
“It’s exciting, like, being able to throw out candy," Robles said. "And even grownups were getting excited getting candy thrown at them.”
The evening continued with a recognition of community leaders and performances by local dance troupes.
