Old Fashioned Christmas Parade Hits the Streets and Warms the Hearts This Holiday Season in Forsyth County

Posted Friday, November 10, 2006

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Cumming, GA (November 10, 2006) – The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will have some stiff competition this year – in Cumming, Georgia, that is. The inaugural 2006 Cumming Christmas Parade & Festival will be taking Cumming and Forsyth County by storm this December, providing a memorable holiday event that will warm the hearts of all who experience it. Red and green will surely be the colors of the day on Saturday, December 2, 2006, as thousands of Cumming and Forsyth County residents line the streets of Market Place Boulevard to enjoy a good, old fashioned Christmas parade with family and friends. There just isn’t a grander way to usher in the Christmas season than with a nostalgic holiday parade complete with colorfully decorated floats, high school marching bands, a gaggle of elves, live music, dance troupes, clowns, local dignitaries and the jolly fellow in the funny red suit.

Christmas is back this year, and in a big way. The City of Cumming, Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce and Northside Hospital-Forsyth have collaborated to bring back the joy, wonder and simple magic of Christmas that can easily be lost or forgotten during the hustle and bustle of the frantic holiday season. Families from all over the County and beyond will gather along Market Place Boulevard in Cumming and revel in excitement as a festive caravan of floats and performers – along with a few surprises -- roll along from Buford Dam Road at Market Place Boulevard all the way to the intersection of Highway 20 and Market Place Boulevard. The parade ends before Highway 20 and will flow along the connecting road immediately in front of the Lowe’s parking lot.

“I just can’t think of a better way for us to showcase the wonderful spirit and camaraderie that people of Cumming possess than to bring them all out for a grand, festive celebration whereby they can share their talents as Parade participants or simply come on out to enjoy the ‘hometown’ joys a holiday event like this can bring,” commented The Honorable H. Ford Gravitt, Mayor of the City of Cumming. “I am personally honored to be a part of this great community-wide event,” he continued.

The Parade begins at 3:30, but many spectators will likely be out and about getting a head start on holiday shopping at Cumming’s diverse array of merchants located along Market Place Boulevard. “The Cumming Christmas Parade & Festival is an all-around perfect event for our community, as it brings together individuals, families and businesses alike to support our way of life here, our businesses and our community,” said James McCoy, president of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber is so proud to co-host an event that, in so many ways, gives back to the community that we all love to call home,” he added.

Some of the floats and performances that will delight spectators along the parade route include the Rosewater Theatre Company’s cast of A Christmas Carol, 55 Cumming Playhouse Singers in festive attire, Sawnee Ballet members, Cornerstone Schools, 53-member Christian Fine Arts of Forsyth Marching Band, Leadership Forsyth, Forsyth Jr. Service League, Stars & Strikes, Andean Chevrolet, Parkway Presbyterian Church, Oxford Summit Apartments, Forsyth County Fire Department and color guard, Parsons Characters, Lanier Rotary, Forsyth Central High School Football cheerleaders, Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, the Forsyth Central Marching Band, a gaggle of elves, dazzling dancers and more. And it wouldn’t be a Christmas Parade without the big guy – Old St. Nick himself. Santa will arrive in all his grandeur via a beautiful black, lighted sleigh drawn by black percheron horses, donned with jingling sleigh bells.

Floats will be judged and awarded prizes based on the following criteria: 1) Most Original; 2) Most Creative; and 3) Best Use of a Christmas Theme. A distinguished panel of judges will include community leaders and dignitaries, and floats will be judged just prior to the start of the parade.

The Cumming Christmas Parade & Festival winds down around 4:30 p.m., but the fun doesn’t end there -- and in fact continues just across the street at Northside Hospital-Forsyth, where spectators will gather for the traditional annual tree lighting event – the Northside Hospital Celebration of Lights. Northside’s Celebration of Lights event will literally pick up where the Parade leaves off, kicking off at 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. with all kinds of fun, food, holiday-filled arts and crafts, entertainment, children’s activities, musical entertainment and of course, pictures with Santa -- and more. Local author and columnist, Harris Blackwood, will host the official tree lighting ceremony, and proceeds from the event will benefit Northside’s cancer center.

Because parking may be at a premium along Market Place Boulevard, Parade organizers encourage event attendees to park on Castleberry Rd., directly across from the Cumming Fairgrounds in Parking Lot #3, as sponsored shuttles, provided by Sojourn Tours, will be available to drop them at designated shuttle stop locations along the parade route. After the parade ends at 4:30 p.m., festival guests are encouraged to hop on these shuttles to head across Hwy. 20 and join in the holiday fun at Northside Hospital’s Celebration of Lights tree lighting ceremony.

Sponsors of the Cumming Christmas Parade & Festival include: First National Bank of Forsyth County; Forsyth County News; Wal-Mart, Comfort Glide Paint Systems, Oxford Summit Apartments, The Dinner A’Fare, Rack Room Shoes, Parsons Christmas Shoppe, Sogno Gelato, the City of Cumming and the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses and individuals are invited to participate in the Cumming Christmas Parade & Festival as event sponsors and/or float participants. For sponsorship information, please contact Renee Rainwater at (678) 725-1273 or rcrainwater@bellsouth.net. To enter a float, contact Marissa Festa at (678) 549-3059 or marissafesta@hotmail.com. For general Parade information, call the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce at (770) 887-6461 or visit www.cummingforsythchamber.org. Media information should contact Lynne Andrews, president, Marketing Expectations, Inc. (770) 886-5606 or lynne@marketingexpectations.com. The inaugural Cumming Christmas Parade & Festival is a production of Marketing Expectations, Inc.