Since the first parade in 1957—when Santa Claus temporarily swapped his reindeer for a helicopter and landed on the high school football field—many participants have done their part to provide a little levity to the occasion.

Coming to the forefront would be the Italian Gardeners' Association Cucuzza Squash Drill Team. Rain or shine, they will be dressed in their usual garb—old plaid striped pants hiked up to their armpits and a Santa hat.

They will be escorted by visiting dignitary Joe Zone, the esteemed councilman from Ward 19 in Cleveland, Ohio, and the brother-in-law of Dr. Jim Pellegrin, the group's executive secretary.

Of course, there will be the "Cucuzza Queen" waving grandly from Jim Zanardi's 1953 black Cadillac—the ladies who have been honored with the royal role over the years have ranged in age from 22 to 89. The flag bearer will once again be proudly carrying the Italian flag, made by Pellegrin's mother and modified to include a giant cucuzza.

It's expected that around 30 members will show up to what is really the organization's only activity. They practice their precision drill steps two hours before the event, says Pellegrin—not a lot of time considering the complicated steps they perform and how difficult it is to impose discipline upon the group. A giant squash will be carried on the shoulder of each marcher like a rifle.

When the group goes by, members are quite noisy and people are lulled out of their stupor from the endless procession of Indian Guides, says Pellegrin. "We can hear them yelling out loudly, 'Hey, there's the squash guys.' "

"Making a fool of yourself in front of the whole town gives you a good feeling; it's very rewarding," says Pellegrin.

Also watch for the folks from the Los Gatos Dog and Cat Hospital, whose theme this year is "Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Van." The mystery van, actually a vet ambulance, will be decorated by the staff, says veterinary nurse Tom Taormina.

Appearing alongside their human companions will be dogs wearing sweaters and Santa hats and coats all decked out for the season.

There will be one designated driver of the mystery van, with everyone else outside, since the dogs prefer walking to being cooped up in the vehicle.

Unless the weather's too foul, watch for the Sizzling Seniors and their special blend of aerobic dancing. They're apt to perform some hip-swinging moves before the judges to strut their stuff. At an average age of 73, they perform for many functions in the community and "provide positive affirmation of the aging process," says group leader Beverly Myers. In addition, they've actually beaten the Cucuzza Squash Drill Team for an award, confesses a much-chagrined Pellegrin, who admits to being quite competitive with other participants in his category.

The seniors group came up with their name after a particularly riveting performance of Michael Jackson's song "Bad." They wanted to steer away from names like Dancing Grannies because the group wants to debunk myths surrounding seniors.

Of course there's the wacky and nonconformist Stanford University Band, whose antics resulted in the band's almost being thrown out of the parade twice for throwing candy—a banned offense. Not one for giving up, the band even tried circumventing the rules by waiting until it was in the middle of the parade, thereby fooling—or so they thought—parade administrators. Now the band is escorted by the "uglies" the entire route in an effort to prevent such behavior.

The "uglies," according to parade coordinator Reed Graham, are those individuals working for the parade who are real sticklers and "have no toleration for people disobeying the rules." Whether the uglies' efforts will work or not this year, though, is anybody's guess.

And who could ever forget past participants, such as the Los Gatos Pygmy Goat Herders, who would come down from the Santa Cruz Mountains with their mobile hot tub—which contained no water but instead boasted a bar where they were known to take libation, says Graham. Sadly, they stopped coming a few years ago when none of their progeny would take the reins, and it was decided that their land was worth more than the goats and subsequently sold.

The Ill Mannered Boys from Blossom Hill Manor and their band were also a treat. This jazz combo would perform the whole parade route, complete with self-contained speakers, and were quite good, says Graham.

And then there was the close-order Makita Drill Team, carrying its electric drills, and doing a cross step that positively wowed the bystanders with the inventive act.