Cedartown Christmas parade entries due December 1

The deadline to get into the Christmas parade for the City of Cedartown is coming up at the beginning of December.

Those who wish to be in this year’s Christmas parade have until Monday, Dec. 1 to get their entries into city hall to get and fill out an application, or they can go online to find forms at cedartowngeorgia.gov.

The parade has been scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, at 6 p.m. with a rain date of Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, at 6 p.m. The theme for this year is “Christmas in the South” and the family of the late Jim Lankford will serve as parade Grand Marshals.

Lankford was born and raised in Polk County and served in the US Army for two years in Germany as a member of special services. A business owner in downtown Cedartown for more than 50 years, Lankford was a member of the Cedartown Optimist Club, a member of First Baptist Church and was a Mason and member of the Caledonia Lodge F&AM 121.

He was a member of the Polk County Historical Society and was instrumental in preserving historical photographs of Polk County through the Georgia Archives Vanishing Georgia Program. Most residents in Cedartown can remember Lankford’s impressive collection of old photographs, souve- nirs, and postcards and his willingness to share it with everyone he met.

In 1988, Lankford began his involvement in the Main Street Program and was appointed to the Downtown Development Authority in 1995. Lankford worked with the City and downtown merchants, working to acquire Christmas lights and encouraging merchants to decorate their storefront for the holiday season.

The Cedartown Christmas parade is a decades- long tradition and is always well attended by local residents. In addition to marching bands, the parade features fire engines, police cars and homemade floats, hand- crafted by local church groups and civic organizations.

Prize money is offered for winning floats in several divisions. The 2014 Christmas parade will have three categories: category one, church division, with a first, second and third place; category two, open division, with a first, second and third place; and category three, most outstanding division, with only a first place award.

First place prize is $500, the second place price is $300, and the third place prize is $200 for each division.

The parade route will be from Marietta Street to the Badcock Furniture parking lot behind Wendy’s on North Main Street.

The City of Cedartown invites all residents to participate in the parade and have fun doing so, however, there are a few rules they ask participants to follow. City officials ask that participants do not feature Santa Claus on their float.

The jolly fat man will make his grand appearance at the end of the parade on the Cedartown Fire Department’s fully restored 1948 American LaFrance truck. Officials also ask that participants do not throw candy from their float during the parade.

City officials are also looking for help in finding a Christmas tree to put up in the park across from the court house in downtown Cedartown.

Last year, the town’s tree was donated by a local family and hopes are to decorate another donated tree for this year’s Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. Officials are looking for a tall evergreen, anywhere from 25-to-30-feet tall, preferably with a long, straight trunk.

Residents who have a tree fitting that description and are willing to offer it to the Downtown Cedartown Association should contact Main Street Director Ramona Ruark at 770-748-2090.

The Christmas Tree Lighting will take place on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. in front of Courthouse No. 2.