WATERVILLE -- Santa Claus rode into the city atop the Kringleville Express Saturday night to cheers from throngs of children and adults.

Thousands of people lined downtown streets to watch the annual Parade of Lights and welcome Santa to Kringleville, his mini-village in Castonguay Square.

There were dancers and singers and children dressed like angels; party boats; four-wheelers and a big fire truck covered with dazzling lights.

"I would estimate we had at least 6,000 people downtown tonight, altogether," said Raffi DerSimonian, a spokesman for the Waterville Main Street Program, which organized the event.

Caleb Proctor, 8, of Fairfield, waited in great anticipation for the parade to start, having been disappointed Friday night when it was postponed because of rain.

"Someone I know is in the parade -- Tom (Nason)," he said. "He's my grammie's next-door neighbor. He's hauling one of the floats. He has a tractor. He has 1,260 lights."

Caleb and his father, Dean Proctor, walked out of The Center and onto the sidewalk into a crowd of people, some standing and some sitting in lawn chairs with blankets covering their legs.

"There was hardly anyone out here 10 minutes ago," a surprised Dean Proctor said.

And so it went, with the crowd growing by the second until it flooded the downtown. Santa got off the train at Kringleville, where he entered his house and met children, who sat in his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas.

"Right now, there's still a line out in front of Santa's house and Mrs. Claus is schmoozing with the kids," DerSimonian said just before 8 p.m. "The National Honor Society from Waterville Senior High School is helping coordinate the visitors."

Jorgensen's Cafe was warm and welcoming, with the Mueller Family playing bluegrass music and patrons sipping hot chocolate, coffee and lattes. At the Maine Made & More shop, owner Emilios Zirtidis was smiling even though customers were mostly looking.

On Friday, lots of people came downtown before the parade was to start and shopped at the store-- but ultimately the parade was postponed.

"Yesterday was a good day for us," Zirtidis said.

At Kennebec Chocolates across Main Street from The Center, patrons were buying coffee and hot cocoa, according to Tamara Capp, who works at the store. Earlier in the day, business was brisk, with people buying boxes of chocolates and gift sets of molded chocolate items, she said.

Other businesses, including Day's Jewelers and Soup to Nuts Coffeehouse, also were open late on Saturday. Day's is the official sponsor of Main Street's "Season of Holiday Programming." The Waterville Elks Lodge is a supporting sponsor and Pine Tree Cellular/U.S. Cellular is the lead sponsor.

With temperatures in the upper 20s, people huddled in Castonguay Square after the parade as the lights were turned on on the giant evergreen tree there.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com