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St. Nick will ring in the holiday season

Christmas parades being held Saturday in Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg

Date published: 12/5/2008

BY JEFF BRANSCOME

Santa will once again cap off tomorrow's annual Fredericksburg Jaycees Christmas parade, courtesy of General Motors.

GM's Powertrain plant in Spotsylvania County has stored the sleigh for at least 10 years and recently made some repairs to it, said parade Director Jen Adkins.

"They're very proud of their sleigh," said Adkins, president of the Fredericksburg Jaycees.

GM's financial woes won't be evident at the city's parade, dubbed "Holidays around the World." Santa's sleigh will trail reindeer-decorated cars from a local Chevrolet dealership.

The event will feature 100 floats--about the same as last year--but churches and other nonprofit organizations are sponsoring a lot more of them than usual, Adkins said.

"It becomes more of a small, hometown feel when you bring in a lot of the church groups," she said. She said the parade normally attracts 5,000 to 10,000 people.

Spotsylvania's Christmas parade, put on tomorrow by the county's Department of Parks and Recreation, has 82 entries, up slightly from last year, said Pam Hudgins, special events and leisure programmer.

That parade will also feature a lot of church entries, as well as motorcycle groups and the county's ROTC. Its theme is "Sounds of the Season."

"We really pretty much get our Spotsylvania people," Hudgins said of the parade's participants.

Both parades will feature all of Spotsylvania's high school bands.

Fredericksburg's James Monroe High School marching band usually kicks off the Jaycees' parade, but will perform later in the evening this year. The band will be in Lynchburg earlier in the day for the school's state championship football game.

Adkins said she thinks the Fredericksburg parade is less commercial because businesses are cutting back. Still, Geico, McLane Mid-Atlantic and other businesses paid the $175 to enter floats. Nonprofits paid $75 to participate.

Proceeds will go toward a Christmas shopping spree for at least 25 needy children and a Jaycees camp for developmentally disabled kids and adults, Adkins said.

The parade is shaping up nicely, but Adkins wants some more Christmas flair: "We're hoping it snows."

Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com

JAYCEES PARADE Time: 5:30 p.m. Road Closures: Caroline and Princess Anne streets closed from Lafayette Boulevard to Amelia Street, 4 p.m. until about 7:30. Cars parked along those streets will be towed. SPOTSYLVANIA PARADE Time: 2 p.m. Parking: Grassy area behind Spotsylvania Middle School, Holbert Building parking lot and behind the Judicial Center on American Legion Drive. Road Closures: Intersection of Robert E. Lee Drive and State Route 613 to the intersection of Massaponax Church Road, 1:45 p.m. until about 4.; Intersection of Business Route 208 and Courthouse Commons, 1:45 p.m. until about 4. The Route 208 bypass will remain open with restrictions at the Brock Road intersection to Robert E. Lee Drive. TOMORROW "Peace on Earth," Main Street, Bowling Green. Sponsored by Caroline Chamber of Commerce. 11 a.m. 804/448-5264. SUNDAY 62nd annual Quantico Christmas Parade, Town of Quantico. Parade starts on Broadway Street by Freeney Field and proceeds down Potomac Avenue. 1 p.m. 703/784-2741. Orange Christmas Parade, Parade begins in downtown Orange at 5 p.m. Tree lighting in Taylor Park on Main Street at 6 p.m. 540/672-2540.

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Date published: 12/5/2008