It’s officially Christmas season! You know what that means, bring on the Christmas lights, Christmas movies, and hot chocolate! Speaking of Christmas, Cartersville had its annual Christmas Parade, along with a huge Christmas tree lighting, last week on Thursday, December 5^th. This parade was originally created by The Exchange Club in Cartersville and has had various sponsors throughout the years. This year Shottenkirk Honda sponsored the entire parade and had some representatives partake in the parade as well.

The parade had an impressive turnout- as it does every year- and proves to be fun for the entire family, again and again. Multiple volunteers from churches were giving away free hot chocolate at certain locations and numerous people walking in the parade were dressed up in costumes that ranged from elaborate and a little extra to cute and sweet. Some other organizations gave out things such as business cards or brochures in order to promote, either their cause or their organization/club.

The floats were great, and it was obvious that everyone did a lot of planning prior to Thursday. There were floats ranging from Frozen-themed to Grinch-themed and of course there was an entire float dedicated to Santa Claus and all his reindeer. According to Christian Cowart, “My favorite float at the Christmas Parade was the electric billboard advertisement company because they had a cute snowy background on the billboard but then when you looked closer, you could see a Glenda Mitchell advertisement billboard and it was hilarious.”  No matter what your favorite float was, you can’t deny that every float was greatly designed and decorated.

When it comes to the parade, everyone has a reason why they enjoy it so much. For some people it’s the floats, the free stuff, the hot chocolate, etc. but according to Blake Worthington, a sophomore at Cass High School, “My favorite part of the parade is all the lights and all the people coming together to enjoy something, especially all the families coming together to enjoy the parade.”

Some of Cass High’s very own students were in the parade! Most of our band kids, JROTC kids, and Color guard were there and thankfully the weather wasn’t super bad this year and they all performed very well. According to Hinal Patel, a senior in the band, “This year, the weather was very nice to us because it wasn’t too cold…Also, we were out closer to the front of the parade, which makes things quicker for us so we can get home and sleep since we have school the next day. The one thing all band students dread is the Christmas parade. But it’s still enjoyable to hear people cheer us

on. “

This parade is an annual tradition for many families and each year the money paid to allow floats to be a part of the parade is given to many local charities. This parade is a big part of Cartersville tradition, along with the Christmas tree lighting, and continues to not only provide people with joy year and year again but also helping needy people around Cartersville and providing local businesses and organizations with the opportunity to promote their cause.