GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The City of Green Cove Springs has wanted to bring its most celebrated son home for years, but scheduling was hampered by training and decompressing for his third Summer Olympic games last July and August.

Then, the telephone rang in October. Caeleb Dressel said he was ready to come home.

After winning two gold medals and a silver at the Summer Games in Paris last July and August, the swimming champion who grew up in Green Cove Springs and graduated from Clay High in 2014 will be honored Saturday night at the city’s Christmas on Walnut Street’s Parade and Christmas Tree Lighting.

He will board one of 80 floats and be designated “Hometown Hero.” He will also attend the 45-foot Christmas Tree lighting.

Christmas on Walnut Street has evolved into the second-largest single-day event to the Clay County Agriculture Fair in the county.

Organized by the Green Cove Springs Business League, the parade starts at Houston Street at the Clay County Courthouse and will proceed south on U.S. Highway 17 to Walnut Street, where it will make a U-turn and return to the courthouse. That way, fans on both sides of U.S. 17 will get a close-up view of the parade.

It also means there will be several road closures and delays, interim police chief Shawn Hines said.

“I would say this: if you're going to attend the parade, be in Green Cove, be parked by about 4 o'clock on Saturday,” he said. “You won't make it if you're trying to get there between 5 and 6. It's going to be too late. Try to get to try to get in place around 4. At least get parked, get in place on the route by 4:30, 4:45, because we’ll start shutting the road (U.S. 17) right at 5 (p.m.), and the parade starts at 6 (p.m.) sharp.”

U.S. 17 will be closed from State Road 16 to Governors Circle from 5 p.m. until approximately 8:15 p.m., according to the city. Local traffic will be rerouted onto Clay Street.

Hines said tractor-trailer traffic will be sent on County Road 315 southbound to SR 16, and traffic northbound will be turned to SR 16 to CR 315.

Parking will also be prohibited on Magnolia Avenue, Clay and Palmer streets, and the following intersections will be closed: Walnut Street and U.S. 17, Spring Street and U.S. 17, SR 17 and Magnolia Avenue, Magnolia Avenue and Walnut Street, St. Johns Avenue and Palmer Street.

Hines said every member of the police department, as well as 15 deputies and Public Service Aides with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, will be deployed to maintain safety and traffic.

The attention, however, will be on the festivities—particularly the parade. Last year’s event attracted nearly 10,000 people, and with Dressel, this year’s event could be a record-breaker. Added to the city’s 150th-anniversary celebration in Spring Park, which established a record for the most people at Spring Park in a single day, Green Cove Springs has attracted considerable attention in the past three months.

This year’s theme is “A Vintage Christmas.” It comes a few weeks after work was completed on a refurbishing project on Walnut Street, another sellout of 225 Parade of Trees throughout Spring Park and a forecast for pleasant temperatures with no rain.