In Photo At Left: Faron Atwood prepares to hook up the electrical connection for one of Sparta's Christmas decorations that were put in place last week. Blue Ridge Electric put up the decorations for the town this year. In the photo above, Alleghany County maintenance worker Harold Wood hangs a ribbon on a wreath outside the Alleghany Courthouse as Mark Pardue helps from the ground. The wreaths at the courthouse were donated by Bickerstaff Greenery of Sparta and Roberts Tree Farm of Ennice. Wreaths and Christmas trees for other county buildings were donated by Garvey Christmas Trees, Wishon Evergreens and Carpenter Evergreens.The annual Christmas parade is scheduled for this weekend, Nov. 25, in downtown Sparta. The town and county usually try to get their decorations in place prior to the parade.

Courthouse is focus of events set Saturday

The annual Sparta Christmas Parade, sponsored by the Sparta Revitalization Committee, will be held this Saturday, Nov. 25, on Main Street.

The parade will feature a return of its later start time, which was initiated last year. Many local merchants praised the 2 p.m. parade kickoff as a better option.

"It works better in that we have a better opportunity to see how the weather is going to be," said Lucier. "Our hope is that people will come in to town and look around both before and after the parade." A rain date for the event has been set for Sunday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. The theme of this year's parade is "O Christmas Tree." Barbara Lucier, Main Street Program coordinator, said homemade floats and entries of all types are encouraged.

The grand marshal for the event is Tom Burgiss.

Lucier said there is no entry fee for the event, but participants are asked to pre-register by calling her at 372-6135. "We wouldn't ever turn anyone down who had a valid entry," said Lucier. "But it helps us get better organized if everyone pre-registers."

Those interested in taking part are asked to meet behind Sparta Elementary School at 1 p.m. to line up for the parade. The route will again follow the Main Street corridor to Blue Ridge Street, ending at Trojan Village.

In addition, several other events are planned at the recently renovated Alleghany County Courthouse that day. The additional events were organized by local merchants, the Alleghany Chamber of Commerce and the SRC.

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