Brownie Scouts from Troop No. 1352 (photo above) dressed up like Christmas presents and marched in Saturday’s Yule parade. In the photo at left is the float that won the best overall award. It was made by Wilkes Community College’s Alleghany Campus. The parade was attended by large crowds of people and all of the floats were homemade.

Parade draws a large crowd downtown

Main Street was lined with people who turned out to watch the annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, despite temperatures in the lower 30s. The crowd appeared to be one of the largest in recent memory, according to parade organizers.

“I was real tickled with the turnout,” said Bob Bamberg, executive director of the Alleghany Chamber of Commerce and one of the parade’s organizers. “We also had a very good number of homemade floats. I heard several people comment on that.”

In the past, organizers had enlisted sponsors to pay for ‘commercial,’ or pre-decorated floats to use in the parade. Those floats were not utilized this year, as the parade’s organizers attempted to give it a more ‘down home’ flair, Bamberg noted.

“It really turned out very well,” he said.

The theme for this year’s parade was “The Spirit of Christmas.” Retired Rev. Don Richardson was the grand marshal.

Parade Winners

Winners of the parade’s homemade entry contest were judged by Peggy Brady and Marie Klutz. Blue Ribbons were awarded to 14 of the entries who registered for judging, Brady said.

The best of show winner was Wilkes Community College’s Alleghany Campus. Other ribbon winners were Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church, Rainbow of Hope Cancer Coalition, New River Shriners Club.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back