38th Annual Christmas Parade, Killeen
Killeen's annual Christmas parade slated for Saturday
Posted On: Friday, Dec. 12 2008 04:43 AM
Special to the Daily Herald
More than 140 entries, about half of
them decorated floats, will participate in the annual Christmas parade,
scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the downtown Killeen area.
"We
are extremely pleased to have this number of floats. That adds a lot to
the parade," said Benton Goodnight, chair of the Celebrate Killeen
Committee, sponsor of the parade.
Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander
of III Corps and Fort Hood, and state Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, recipient
of the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce's Roy J. Smith Leadership
Award, will be co-grand marshals of the parade.
The parade begins
at Second Street and Avenue D, goes east on Avenue D to Eighth Street,
north on Eighth Street to Sprott Avenue, west on Sprott Avenue to Gray
Street, south on Gray Street to Avenue C, and west on Avenue C, the area
where the parade disbands.
Parade participants include the 1st
Cavalry Division Band, Horse Detachment and Honor Guard; the Ellison
High School "Screaming Eagle" Band, cheerleaders and Diamond Dolls; and
the Killeen High School Roo Band, Mr. and Mrs. Roo and cheerleaders.
Junior ROTC units from Killeen, Ellison, Harker Heights and Shoemaker high schools also will participate.
Other
musical groups participating are the Fairway Middle School "Warrior
Band," Manor Middle School "Ram Band," Central Texas Five Pipes and
Drums from the Killeen Fire Department and Pandemonium, the Shoemaker
High School steel drum ensemble.
"In addition to the floats, we
have a big variety of entries including riding clubs, marching groups,
school groups and cultural organizations," Goodnight said.
As is
the custom, Santa Claus on a Killeen Fire Department truck will be the
last entry in the parade. He and others will toss candy to children
along the parade route. Parents are urged to ensure children stay well
back from the parade entries as a safety measure.
"We want to
make sure that children chasing into the street after candy are not hit
by one of the vehicles in the parade or by the parade officials in golf
carts who must monitor the progress of the parade," Goodnight said.
The lineup area will be closed to traffic, so parade participants must be dropped off near the lineup area.