I invited my family out with hopes of ushering in the holiday spirit with the city’s festive celebration Friday night presented by the Downtown Tracy Business Improvement Area and The Surland Cos., yet we were rather disappointed.

Entering the downtown with the children’s choir singing “Jingle Bells” was a great way to get in the mood, but once we passed the main stage, we had a hard time finding Santa. Oh, wait, we found him tucked away under the Big-O-Tires sign behind the American Dog trailer.

We then turned our attention to the city’s Christmas tree placed atop the newly remodeled fire administration building. What a sight! We often asked ourselves what the vacant canopies along 10th Street and Central Avenue were for. Potential holiday somethings maybe

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas when we saw the beautiful horse and carriage, yet we had no idea where to go for the complimentary ride. The full-page ad in the Tracy Press advertised that Christmas carolers would be strolling throughout the downtown, but where were they I bet they were stuck in the Friday night commute.

As we continued down 10th Street visiting merchants and exploring the further potential, we came across two violinists playing holiday music. The talented musicians were not even amplified, making it hard to hear them. It would have been nice to stroll down beautiful 10th Street admiring the décor with the nice sound of holiday music, but that was not an option so we made our way back to the main stage for the animated light show.

I probably had high expectations, yet I was still surprised to see a couple of Christmas trees blink on and off to the beat of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Downtown is beautiful all lit up and a perfect setting for any holiday event, yet the city failed to take advantage of its potential. We would have loved to see more of a community interest in the affair, including from local Scout troops, churches, boutiques, school bands and clubs.

We felt misled by the advertisement about the event and were not motivated to attend the parade Saturday. Bah humbug!

Jared Rio, a Tracy resident for 24 years, is a history teacher at West High School.