Christmas tree lighting, parade draw festive crowd in downtown Jackson
Jacksonians gathered in front of city hall on Monday evening to watch the annual Christmas tree lighting and take part in the holiday festivities.
The ceremony began with a speech from Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and was followed by the hanging of two special ornaments on the tree in honor of late councilmembers Harvey Buchanan and Vicki Foote.
“I had the privilege of serving with them when I was on the city council,” Conger said. “Harvey was a mentor to me and Vicki was a good friend.”
After the tree was lit, local, young performers from The Ned sang classic Christmas tunes, led by their conductor David McCall.
“Music adds everything, it adds that finishing touch,” McCall said.
McCall expressed gratitude for the opportunity to perform and added that he hopes to return next year to provide more holiday entertainment.
“This is always a well-attended event,” Conger noted. “The songs were fantastic, so it’s always a good way to start the Christmas season off in Jackson.”
Parade
Dancers, steppers, holiday-themed floats, fire trucks, a marching band, pageant queens and Christmas tractors made an appearance at the downtown parade, and there was not shortage of notable Christmas figures like Santa Claus and the Grinch.
Despite both the tree lighting and the parade being rescheduled from its original date on Saturday due to the rain, the crowd turnout was remarkable nonetheless.
Whitney Billingsley, Community Engagement Director for Parks and Recreation, explained that the weather and schedule change was not going to stop the show from going on.
“We work with some great people around here so we wanted to make it happen and didn’t want to cancel the parade,” Billingsley said. “Moving it to Monday was a great choice and it worked out just fine.”
She noted that 96 participants registered to be in the parade and approximately 90 took part.
All of those who were in the parade are eligible to win first, second, and third-place trophies based on votes cast by judges who sat on a stage outside of Turntable Coffee. Participant adherence to the theme of “Toyland” will be taken into consideration and the winners will be notified by email.
“I’ve seen it from all different aspects as a citizen and as the registration person who takes in all the applicants,” Billingsley said. “We want to make sure we’re putting on a great event for our department as well as the city.”
Planning for the parade typically begins six to seven months in advance and extensive collaboration between various committees and city officials is needed in order to make it happen.
“There is no one person that does it, there’s a whole team of us,” Billingsley added. “It’s more about Christmas than just the parade.”
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Christmas tree lighting, parade draw festive crowd in downtown Jackson
