WAUKESHA, Wis. — The 2022 Waukesha Christmas Parade winners were announced by the City of Waukesha Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
Anna Spiers and her Revolutions Twirling Club have been performing in the Waukesha Christmas parade for more than a decade.
"The kids and families look forward to this parade probably the most of any parade that we do every year," said Anna.
But that beloved tradition took a dark turn last year for the twirling club. After six people were killed and countless others were injured following the Christmas parade tragedy.
"We did come in contact and were passed by Darrell Brooks," said Anna. "I was very close to being hit by him, but by some grace of God I was able to get out of the way."
Luckily while Anna says none of her team members were physically hurt, the ordeal left an emotional scar. But after a year of growing and healing together, the twirling club decided they weren't going to let fear win. And instead, they chose to perform in the city's 2022 Christmas parade.
"I knew that part of getting over the trauma of last year would be participating in the parade again," said RTC member, Haley Spiers.
"I was excited to try again," said another member Sienna Wollenhaupt.
Impressing the crowd and judges so much, they took home 1st place in the parade's performance category.
"It totally was the cherry on top. It was completely unexpected and something that the kids can be proud of," said Anna.
"Everyone was cheering and everyone seemed like they were happy and had hope and joy again," said Haley.
And they plan on continuing to bring that joy to the community for many years to come.
The City of Waukesha and Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast tied for first place for float design. Taylor's People's Park took second place.
As for performance, Revolutions Twirling Club took home first. The Waukesha North "Northstar" Marching Band and Wisconsin Diamond Dancers tied for second place.
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This year's parade kicked off on Sunday and was broadcasted by TMJ4. The parade featured caroling in the crowd, family photos, comfort dogs, and appearances from Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and their reindeer.