Berlin’s annual Christmas parade will march, roll, dance and twirl its way up Main Street for the 50th time tonight, demonstrating that even in middle age this event is just as fresh now as it was a half-century ago.

But, of course, it’s not just the parade by itself that draws such huge crowds from the region, it’s the close community feeling, a welcoming atmosphere as it were, that goes along with it that makes parade night what it is.

Call it what you want — a celebration of the good ol’ days ideal, a  manifestation of the holiday spirit,  or an honest-to-goodness family tradition — but a parade without bustling sidewalks, the glow from shop windows and the gathering of new and old friends isn’t a parade at all, it’s a convoy.

The difference here is that Berlin residents, business people and officials have gone all in on the holidays over the years. The weekends, like the one upcoming, have packed schedules of one thing after another that collectively deliver an image that many other towns can aspire to, but never quite achieve.

This doesn’t mean the town doesn’t have its problems. Of course, it does, just like every other municipality, city and population center in the country.

But what it does better than most is put the drama on hold so it can accentuate the positive and enjoy itself, with the result being a representation that you’d take home for the holidays and put on the fireplace mantel if you could.

Naturally, all this requires months of planning and organizing, countless hours of preparing and some heavy lifting by residents, shopkeepers, churches and organizations.

That, however, often goes unnoticed by the crowds that line the sidewalks along the parade route and visit all the other venues where something special is taking place.

And that’s fine, too, since seeing so many people enjoy themselves at this and other well-run events is its own reward. Neither does it hurt that Berlin is being itself, while many other communities probably wish they could be more like Berlin.