An electric night parade will be held next weekend in Sacramento, reviving a 115-year-old spectacle copied by the Walt Disney Co.

Plans are coming together to hold the city's first night parade since 1895. That parade lit up city streets during the Grand Electric Carnival, which heralded the arrival of electric power in Sacramento. 

The Parade of Lights, planned for Saturday, Dec. 5, is expected to be short because organizing only began about a month ago. The parade, which will be held in Midtown, still has time to grow if more people get involved, said organizer Tassina Placencia, who owns Le Petit Paris, 1221 19th St., with her husband Ruben.

With the continuing recession, Sacramento seems to need something beautiful for the community to gather around, Placencia said. Businesses in Midtown and its "Handle District" — the neighborhood centered around the intersection of 18th and Capitol — are also doing more to draw customers during the holidays, she said.

"I thought this year would be a really great year to do it," Placencia said. "It's hard times for everyone. That's when you really need to feel the holiday spirit and feel like you've had a great evening with your friends."

Sacramento's Grand Electric Carnival parade, which celebrated the world's first long-distance electric power transmission from Folsom to Sacramento, was so beautiful that Walt Disney Co. later used that as a model for its Electric Light Parade.

The Old Sacramento Business Association announced in September that they were planning to revive the night parade during winter holiday festivities in 2011.

Next weekend's parade, which is expected to start at 6 p.m., will somewhat conflict with the Capitol City Yacht Club's Lighted Boat Parade, with which the association is involved. That parade starts at 7 p.m. at the Sacramento Marina and motors past Old Sacramento and beyond, said Melissa Martinez, executive director of the Old Sacramento Business Association.

The association won't be able to participate because of the conflict and the short notice, she said. However, they hope to coordinate the parades and combine efforts next year.

"I think it just gives us the opportunity to make it bigger and better and collaborate with more partners who want to bring more activity to the central city," Martinez said.

The roughly one-mile parade route will form a square, starting at 17th Street and Capitol Avenue, then heading up Capitol to 19th Street, north on 19th, and then down L Street back to 17th.

Each entry must be lit, have a holiday theme and be family-oriented. Entry fees were $250, although fees have been waived this year to encourage participation, Placencia said.

So far, 12 entries have signed up. They include the Rivercats, baton twirlers, a lone carol singer, the California Highway Patrol, handbell performers from St. John's Lutheran Church and a lighted Sacramento Fire Department truck. Le Petit Paris will pull a 16-foot lit-up Eiffel Tower on a dolley. Yogurtagogo is entering a decorated cart. A team from Good Day Sacramento will ride in a lighted company vehicle.

The Alfa Romeo Independent Repair shop will sponsor an Alfa Romeo Spider pulled by guys on scooters. Elves or Santa's helpers may ride in the car. But there will be only one Santa — and he will ride in an ornate, horse-led sleigh for the grand finale, Placencia said.

"You don't want to confuse the kids, because that's what it's about," she said. "You don't want kids asking, 'Why are there three Santas?' "

People don't have to build floats to participate. The idea is to create a community event, she said.

"It can be as little or as big and elaborate as your budget allows," said Placencia, who opened Le Petit Paris boutique about four years ago and expanded to include a cafe a year and a half ago.

Placencia moved from Lodi to Midtown 22 years ago. She said Sacramento should be able to have a night parade like one Lodi has held for more than a decade. That parade includes lighted tractors and grape pickers, and vehicles sponsored by banks and auto body shops.

Sacramento's parade could still use school or church choirs, or groups of friends and family groups who sing carols, Placencia said. The parade's pace will be controlled to last at least an hour.

While parades organized by parade companies may cost $20,000 to $30,000, this parade is so far costing less than $2,000, Placencia said.

Midtown Business Association is helping to finance the cost to pay for street closures and police officers staffing barricades (more than $900), bagging parking meters (about $400 - $500) and insurance through the city ($350), she said.

This fall, Placencia asked the city of Sacramento and Midtown Business Association if they were interested in helping to organize the event. She was told there wasn't enough time. She decided to organize a small parade to lay the groundwork for something bigger.

"I thought we could try to do it in this neighborhood to get it off the ground and see the potential," she said. "It just goes to show that if you want something to happen, you really have to do it yourself."

For more information about the parade, call 446-3639.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.