If you happened to be strolling through downtown St. Charles at midafternoon Saturday, you might have noticed the lawn chairs that seemed to spring up out of nowhere and multiply like rabbits up and down the Main Street bridge.

So begins the newcomers’ introduction to the Electric Christmas Parade, a spirited, colorful community welcome to the holiday season.

People packed along the sidewalks on the north and south sides of Main Street before the start, breathing out oohs and ahs with the passing of each of the Christmas-light-adorned floats throughout the parade, which lasted a little more than a half hour.