Downtown Christmas Parade
*Monday – December 4th, 2023 at 6:30 PM
(first Monday in December)
THEME: TBA
Rules & Reminders
The parade will start at the intersection of Clay and Broad and will end at the Farmer’s Market.
We are not able to give you an exact location on Broad St. or Clay St for your number. We do not put the numbers down until the afternoon of the parade (2 PM). All bands will assemble on Clay Street between Madison and Broad. Parade organizers will be there to finalize the lineup and assist you. This year we will line up in numerical order on the street.
1. EVERYONE will end at the Farmer's Market. You can not continue down Smith Ave. For safety, it is blocked off.
- This means you cannot unload in the middle of Smith Ave. You have to pull into the farmer's market and unload.
- Please don’t stop right when you get into the Farmer’s Market gates, listen to the parade official and keep moving up and then to the side to safely unload from your float, etc.
- There will be three lanes inside the farmers market for unloading. We will have signage and parade officials to assist you.
- Bands will end at the farmer's market.
- Communicate with parents so that they will know where to pick their child up. An adult from your group must be responsible for the children until their parents arrive.
- No one under the age of 16 can drive a motorized vehicle.
- All horses must wear a horse diaper in order to participate.
2. POLICE –
- The police will shut down Broad St. at 3:30 PM. No parking permitted.
- The police will shut down Smith and Hansell at 5 PM
- The police will shut down the intersection of Smith and Kern at 6:30 PM
- There is a blue light command vehicle that will be located at the Health Department, all lost children will be taken here.
- The police will not let non-parade entries onto Clay or Broad. Please encourage parents dropping off children to come up the nearest side street and walk to their destination.
3. Parade Officials will have neon yellow bibs. Their job is to keep both participants and spectators safe and informed. Listen and follow their directions in order to ensure a safe parade! If you have any questions, both officials and police will have the lineup and can assist you.
4. No one is to dress as SANTA! We will have only one Santa and we take care of that. Children get confused as to why there is more than one and we don't want parents to have to explain that.
5. You may hand out candy (not throw, especially from the floats!) and/or discount/freebies. Do not hand out flyers with information as they will get thrown on the ground.
6. Music containing rude or obscene lyrics will not be allowed.
7. All entries are required to maintain a forward motion at all times. (This is the biggest complaint we have every year) We will have parade officials along the parade route to encourage forward motion. When you stop it creates gaps! So please keep moving!
8. JUDGING INFORMATION - THEME: A Storybook Christmas - Judges will evaluate each entry's interpretation of the parade theme. All entries being judged must be in place no later than 5:30 PM. Judging will begin promptly at 5:30 PM and entries not ready at that time will not be judged. Entries not being judged must be lined up by 6 PM. The parade will start promptly at 6:30 PM.
9. Please use your best judgment. Police will be located all along the parade route and entry points.
10. Please stay in line according to your number. Do not try to get in front of anyone else.
11. All animals must be kept on leads under complete control in their assigned spots. All horses must wear a horse diaper in order to participate.
Thomasville YMCA/Thomas County Recreation looks forward to this event each year and feels that it is a great Thomasville tradition. We thank you again for your participation in helping us to have a successful parade.
For more information please contact Katie Ketchum at 229-226-3446 or kketchum@ymca-thomasville.org