ABC11 at the 2016 Raleigh Christmas Parade

RALEIGH -- Thousands of eager fans lined downtown Raleigh streets Saturday for the 2016 Christmas parade.

The staging area at Hillsborough Street and St. Mary's Street is where a group of safety patrol students from Barwell Road Elementary learned a valuable lesson from their adviser, Antonio Davis.

"Yeah, they have to stay on task, stay focused,"said Davis. "Make sure you stay in line and have a good time!"

Dozens of floats, cars, marching bands, and more markers of the festive season passed right in front of our Raleigh Eyewitness News Center on Fayetteville Street.

While it was standing room only during the parade, but first-time parade goer Warnetta Bell claimed a spot hours before it began. She didn't want to risk missing a very special moment.

"My son's in the marching band at Southeast Raleigh," Bell exclaimed.

His was one of many bands that performed Saturday.