Christmas parade moved to Tuesday
The Oaklawn Rotary Christmas Parade has been rescheduled for Tuesday due to Monday’s forecast, which calls for rainy weather during the afternoon and evening, organizers said Friday.
Central Avenue, beginning at the junction of Whittington and Park avenues, will be closed to through traffic Tuesday evening. The closing will begin at Whittington Avenue at 6 p.m., and Central Avenue will close at 6:20 p.m.
The parade, which includes 57 entries, will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The parade will proceed south on Central
Avenue, turning east at Orange Street and disbanding at Transportation Plaza on Broadway Street.
Motorists are asked to remove all parked cars from the parade route by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The city also advised that people who plan to attend the Hot Springs Board of Directors’ regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 133 Convention Blvd., may want to seek alternate routes, which include Malvern Avenue, Spring Street and Convention Boulevard. The board will be holding public hearings on the proposed annexation of areas C, D and E at the meeting.
To ensure safety and allow for the space needed by marching groups, parade goers are asked to stand on the sidewalk and not on the street. Street vendors and throwing of candy are strictly prohibited, the city of Hot Springs said in a news release.
This year’s parade, featuring the theme “Visions of Christmas Long Ago,” honors the important role that history plays in the community, including the long-standing annual tradition of the Christmas parade, the news release said.
Garland County Historical Society Executive Director Liz Robbins will serve as grand marshal.
“The annual Christmas parade is a very special part of our community’s history. I’ve looked at so many photographs of parades past. The storefronts and clothing styles change, but the excitement on the faces of the kids watching the beautiful floats is always the same,” Robbins said recently.
“One of my favorite memories is of marching in the Christmas parades in 1965 and 1966 as a Hot Springs High School T-Stepper. We couldn’t wait for the parades to start because our uniform skirts were very short, and moving helped us warm up a little! We had great fun despite the cold! I never dreamed, as I swung my gold pom-poms down Central Avenue, that I would have the great honor many years later of serving as grand marshal of this remarkable tradition,” Robbins said.
“I know people will enjoy seeing the ‘Visions of Christmas Long Ago’ that so many groups have worked hard to create. Of course, I love the theme! Remembering the past in a gorgeous parade that celebrates the season — what could be better!”
Parade sponsors include Ouachita Financial Advisors; Trent’s Floor Solutions; Genesis Cancer Center; Sanders Plumbing Supply; Jordan Woosley Crone & Keaton; Hospice Home Care; Steamatic and Simmons Bank, with support from the city of Hot Springs.