Sunday, 14 December
Good Morning
Justin…
Saturday
night was the occasion for the biggest event of the year. It was time to flood the center of town with
season greeters dressed in their best winter garb. We all count the days until the annual
Kannapolis Christmas Parade.
Out front of
the Old Stone Vino they were selling
hot chocolate and cider so long as it lasts.
As it turns out it didn’t last all that long.
The owners
of this establishment once provided the townsfolk with fine cuisine and wine
that featured intriguing complexity. But
they gave up. Now they offer everyone’s
favorite fare – burgers and brew.
Dogs always
make their appearance at the parade.
This year featured a three legged dog running down the center of the
street. I couldn’t get a picture of him. He was too fast.
Some floats
assembled across from a field, near the Exxon station and local minimart. People were anxious to get the procession
started.
With a
flurry of police sirens the parade officially begins just as the clock strikes
six. It’s about the lights, you know, so
we wait until it’s good and dark.
We’re
standing at the intersection of Main and Earnhardt Boulevard – named after
hometown hero Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR’s famous number 3. We have a statue nearby, commemorating his
life.
It’s good to
have your smartphone with plenty of battery life so you can record these
special moments. It makes for good
viewing on Facebook.
People
arrive in seasonal hats and they aren't always in the parade itself. No one need be a mere bystander to the
celebration.
Here comes
the Fire Department. Some people make it
here every year – among them a local pizza parlor and a dentist handing out
toothbrushes. I didn’t see the tow truck
company this year, though.
I didn’t see
a single person inside the police station.
Ring the bell inside and no one answers.
They were all at the parade.
You know one
thing that makes a kid happy? Put them
in a small wooden wagon with plenty of bright lights and pull them down the
street. They were too shy to shout “Merry
Christmas” but people cheered anyway.
This old guy’s
bones ache from the cold but no one is going to keep him from enjoying the
magic of the season. It’s a moment to
feel truly grounded. You’re a part of
something joyful. Kind of makes one a
little teary. Your nose begins to run.
There were
so many bands in the parade this year. I
think there must have been seven or eight.
Buses brought them in from North Cabarrus and Rowan County. There was even the Marching Hawks from West Mecklenburg, near Charlotte. They
were definitely something jazzy and new.
People came
for the lights and, seriously, this parade was definitely about the lights.
What’s a
Christmas parade without a manger scene?
Here we have Joseph and Mary with the Christ child. Santa was there, as well. He’s been around a long time.
I wonder how
many people asked this guy if the parade is going to be on local TV news.
One of the
more shocking moments of the parade came with the surprise appearance of the
Abominable Snowman.
It took over
an hour and a half for all the participants to march by. As always, I think there were more people in
the parade than there were standing by watching.
Don’t you
know it was a chorus line of little girls that stole the show?
It was the
Kannapolis Wonders band of A. L.
Brown High School that finished out the parade… just ahead of Santa and his
sleigh, of course. Ho, ho, ho.
Love,
Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment