It is time for the Christmas parade.
The City of Blackshear’s annual Christmas Parade will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5.
The theme of this year’s parade will be “Red, White and Blue Christmas”.
“We are looking for entries that stick closely with the theme and feature lots of color and lots of lights,” said Bethany Strickland, Better Hometown Manager.
Grand marshals will be Citizen of the Year Ray Cunningham and World War II Navy Veteran Jacob Davis, now 101 years old.
The parade will travel through downtown, leaving Emmanuel Baptist Church at the corner of Carter Avenue and Gordon Street and proceed south on Main Street to its end at Tiger Field at the Board of Education office.
Entry for the parade is $10. Deadline to register is Thursday, December 1.
To reserve a parade spot or for more information, call BHT Manager Bethany Strickland at 912-590-2200 or email info@visitblackshear.com. Applications are available on the Better Hometown Facebook page or can be picked up at city hall.
Cash prizes include first place $250, second place $150 and third place $100.
General rules for the parade include:
• no semis or other big/tall vehicles that have limited ground visibility or braking issues are allowed.
• all entries must be decorated in the parade theme.
• no spinning out, excessive noise, dangerous, or boisterous behavior is allowed.
• all live animals must be preapproved and must be bagged – no waste can be left in staging areas or along parade route.
• no trash, debris, etc. can be left in the staging area.
• no smoking in the staging areas or along the parade route.
• participants riding in vehicles or trailers must provide their own vehicles and drivers. Insurance and liability are the sole responsibility of participants.
• all groups with more than 5 participants must meet off-site and arrive at the parade staging area as a group with entry fully decorated and ready for lineup.
All businesses, community organizations, churches and schools are encouraged to enter a float for competition.
The park and downtown will be decorated and in keeping with the Red, White and Blue theme, Veterans banners will be on display at City Park. Christmas decorations will also be displayed downtown. Christmas trees and jingle bells decorations will be featured in the downtown area. Better Hometown is also contracting local artists to paint the store front windows of Better Hometown sponsors/members.
