Alexander Christmas Parade goes virtual for 2020

In this year of change, pandemic and confusion, the Alexander County Christmas Parade will be different — it will be a virtual parade, made up of videos from the eight previous years’ parades, according to Dwaine Coley, Parade Coordinator.

The Parade Committee spent a significant amount of time trying to decide what is the best way to move forward during this pandemic.

“It is obvious that the citizens, particularly the children, of the county need and deserve a time to kick up their heels and celebrate,” said Coley. “In reality, Alexander County is a red county, which means that we must remember to Wash our hands, Wear a face covering, and Wait six feet apart. Therefore, how can we move forward with a celebration which officially opens the holiday season in our county? Think outside the box, and do something new and different.”

Thus, the Alexander County Christmas Parade is going virtual on Saturday, December 5, 2020.

“We aren’t even sure if this constitutes the 74th Annual Parade or if this is the 2020 parade and that has nothing to do with the official count. 2020 is a year of its own! We’ll simply let it move forward and exit our lives soon!” Coley related.

The 2020 Virtual Christmas Parade will be available to be enjoyed and shared on-line through several sites. There are four sites to watch the festivities:
1. On the County website at https://alexandercountync.gov/parade.
2. On YouTube at http://bit.ly/ACParades.
3. Dec. 24–27 on the Government Channel (Spectrum Channel 192).
4. On the Government Channel VOD server at http://alexandercountync.tv.

The Virtual Christmas Marathon Parade will be up for viewing on Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6, then again on Thursday, December 24, Friday, December 25, Saturday, December 26, and Sunday, December 27.

Parades from the past will be posted for everyone’s enjoyment. Parade being posted will include the: 66th Annual Alexander County Christmas Parade (2012), 67th Annual Parade (2013), 68th Annual Parade (2014), 69th Annual Parade (2015), 70th Annual Parade (2016), 71st Annual Parade (2017), 72nd Annual Parade (2018) and the 73rd Annual Alexander County Christmas Parade (2019). The entire Parade Marathon is about 8-9 hours of parades.

The holiday season gets underway with the Second Annual Tree Lighting on the Green, located in uptown Taylorsville at Alexander County Courthouse Park, along West Main Avenue. This holiday focal point will include some 2,000 lights adorning the twenty plus foot Frasier Fir which will be lighted for everyone’s enjoyment. This is a perfect backdrop for family photos throughout the season. Coley said the tree will be placed on Wednesday, Dec. 2, and decorated Thursday and Friday, Dec. 3-4.

“Special thanks to the Alexander County Maintenance Crew for helping get our tree, setting it up, and making it secure, and Hollar Brothers Tree Service for assistance in decorating our tree,” said Coley.

“This is not just a Christmas Parade. This is the Alexander County VIRTUAL Christmas Parade – EIGHT years of parades,” Coley added. “This virtual effort cannot be as exciting as the REAL thing, but in the midst of a pandemic – it is definitely a much-needed release from the stress, concern and difficulties of our lives! Please enjoy one or all of these parades.”

The Parade Committee expresses appreciation to the many businesses, manufacturers, service agencies, etc. which have supported the parade through the years. Coley said, “This year is different, but we’ll be back bigger and better with future editions of the Annual Christmas Parade.”

Coley thanked the numerous community, civic and church groups that have made the past parades reflect the landscape of our county, bands who have helped provide the joy that comes with the season, Clines Floats for their creative and beautiful floats in past years, all facets of law enforcement, safety, emergency management, and fire protection who participate and help traffic and the parade to flow smoothly, to WACB at Apple City Broadcasting, and for county staff re-broadcasting the events on the Government Channel. He also thanked the Cooperative Extension staff and the Parade Committee.