Christmas in July

Gary Reaves reports.

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KRUM — Five-year-old Reagan Richards is in the fight of her life. She's battling a brain tumor, a fight doctors believe she won't win.

She keeps asking her father, "When's Christmas?"

It's a question an entire town turned out to answer on Saturday.

It was above 100 degrees, but it was still Christmas in Krum on July 25.

Only 3,700 people live in this Denton County town, but more than that turned out to watch a parade in Reagan's honor.

Children, cops and firefighters came to the parade which welcomed Reagan with a high-flying banner.

Once the parade kicked off, Reagan watched from her own little throne, recovering from chemotherapy treatments and steroids to suppress her pain.

Her parents said she had started the day feeling poorly.

But there is nothing like a parade which starts in daylight and lasts into the night to change a youngster's mood — especially with Santa Claus and a fire engine covered with Christmas lights.

"I didn't think it was going to be this huge," said Reagan's father, Shawn Richards. "It was unreal. She loved it. She was smiling and she was waving and she was saying 'get me candy,' to all the kids, and they were all gathering the candy up and bringing it to her."

One thing the organizers really wanted was a snow machine.

A company in Austin brought one up for the parade for free.

E-mail greaves@wfaa.com