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This year's Christmas
parade will be at night

By Diana Mazzella
The Daily Advance

Friday, November 14, 2008

Perhaps for the first time ever, the Elizabeth City Jaycees Christmas parade will be held at night.

Organizers are hoping that the parade, which will be held in Elizabeth City the evening of Saturday, Dec. 6, will draw even larger crowds than in previous years.

Parade-goers will in fact get a two-for-one show.

Immediately following the parade, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on Ehringhaus Street and ends at Waterfront Park, the Pasquotank Yacht Club will sponsor the return of the Lighted Boat Parade on the Pasquotank River. Inclement weather forced the Lighted Boat Parade’s cancellation in recent years.

Typically the Lighted Boat Parade was held the night of Elizabeth City Downtown Inc.’s Holiday Celebration the last Friday in November. But this year organizers elected to combine it with the Christmas parade and move the latter event, traditionally held on a Saturday morning, to the evening.

The Jaycees are hoping that by staging the Christmas parade in the evening, float builders can be more creative with colored lights and the floats will show up better against the night sky, says Chris Dail, the group’s president.

With that in mind, the Jaycees are calling this year’s parade “Bright Lights and Big Christmas.”

Former Mayor John Bell, himself a Jaycee decades ago, said he couldn’t recall a Christmas parade ever being held at night in Elizabeth City.

City police Chief Charles Crudup said his department has no major safety concerns about the parade being held at night.

“It’s not much difference between the day and the night parade,” he said. “And we have a plan in place.”

He said members of the department’s Volunteers in Police Services program will be stationed at each intersection along the parade route. In addition, members of the River City Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police will be on hand to help with crowd control.

The route for the parade will be the same as in previous Christmas parades. After starting in front of the Elizabeth City Boys & Girls Club building, the parade will proceed east on Ehringhaus Street before heading north on Road Street. From there, it will turn east on Main Street and proceed to Water Street, where it will head south to Waterfront Park.

According to Dail, the Lighted Boat Parade is scheduled to get under way just as Santa, who will be riding a fire truck at the end of the parade, turns onto Water Street.

The downtown area is expected to be well-populated even before the parade gets under way. The Downtown Waterfront Market will host a Last Minute Holiday Market Bazaar at Mariners’ Wharf Park Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Vendors will be on hand selling produce, baked goods and a variety of holiday gifts.

The idea, Dail says, is to combine a number of events to get residents in the Christmas mood.

“We’re going to make it a strong kickoff for the holiday season,” he said.

Last year’s parade, held on a Saturday morning, drew between 300 and 400 people to watch approximately 70 floats. Organizers are hoping for good participation at this year’s night parade.

Staging for the parade begins at the Boys & Girls Club at 3 p.m. Trophies will be awarded to the top three floats in each category.

The entry fee is $20 and applications are available at the offices of the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce, the Elizabeth City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Elizabeth City Downtown Inc., Clayton Homes of Elizabeth City and the Farm Bureau in Camden. Proceeds from the event will be used for the Jaycees’ annual Christmas Wishes Shopping Tour for needy children.

The deadline for submitting an application is Friday, Nov, 28. More information is available online at myspace.com/ecjaycees or by calling 331-0330.