Preparing for Christmas Part 2
Parades
Almost everyone loves a good parade. The bigger and more spectacular the better! Being from New Orleans I have seen many parades, all types of parades, big parades and small parades, funeral parades, and art car and pet parades. One thing I have learned is a big parade is often a collection of smaller parades. What does this mean? Unless the entire parade is especially themed and completely controlled by a particular Krewe, as they are called in New Orleans, such as the Rex, Bacchus, Zulu, or Endymion Krewes, each participating group does their own thing. This is what we do with our Kinston Christmas parade; encourage everyone to do their own Christmas thing, to be as creative as they like and, since the parade is in the evening, to light it up because that makes it all the more magical. We want the children to have good memories of the Christmas parade just as we hear from adults reminiscing about how they used to catch the parade as children themselves.
Gaps.
Parades have gaps. It is unavoidable. Vehicles break down. The train crosses Queen Street sometimes during the parade. The Railroad will not stop the train, but they do slow it down. Weather can affect equipment. There may be issues at the staging area. There are a myriad of reasons for gaps and sometimes it is a combination. So, bring a folding chair and be comfortable, and get to know your neighbor. The alternative is to watch the live-stream on Neuse News from the comfort of your home. Either way, please know that we are aware of issues and we address those that we can control because we want everyone to have a great parade experience.
Speaking of parade experience, we would like to continue to be able to throw candy, however, despite all the attempts made to discourage children (and adults) from running into the dark street for a piece of 2-cent candy, we may have to remove that special feature from the parade again. It is dangerous. Please control your children and sweet tooth. No piece of candy is worth getting hurt over. Please stay on the sidewalk and out of the street.
Santa.
Every once in a while an extra Santa slips into the parade. The official parade Santa is at the very end of the parade just before the foam canon. Santa never walks in our parade or drives his own vehicle. So if you see a Santa and no foam canon and you think the parade is over, please be careful going home and know that you probably missed half of the parade.
Geofencing
(Electronic location capture) has determined that Kinston Christmas is now the second largest downtown event to the BBQ Festival on the Neuse. Between November 18 and New Year’s with the lighting ceremony for downtown and Pearson Park, and the Christmas Parade, over 15,000 people make a specific visit to downtown Kinston. Visitors to the Pearson Park lights average 5,000 during those weeks. If 10% stay downtown and enjoy themselves eating or drinking or listening to live music or throwing axes, that amounts to about $15,000 to $20,000 in revenues that may not have otherwise been generated without the specific reason to go downtown to see the lights and have fun.