The 66th annual Ocala Christmas Parade will return this weekend and residents could have the choice to observe the festivities from house.
The parade will happen on Saturday, December 10, and Marion County Public Faculties will start broadcasting the occasion on tv and YouTube at 5:30 p.m.
The occasion sometimes attracts over 60,000 spectators to E Silver Springs Boulevard, and plenty of people within the crowd declare their seats alongside the two-mile parade route a number of days prematurely.
The theme for this weekend’s parade is “Hometown Christmas,” and it’ll function 1000’s of riders, marchers, volunteers, dignitaries, and different members. This yr’s theme honors army members and first responders together with legislation enforcement, firefighters, and medical personnel.
George Mathis, an Ocala small enterprise proprietor, was chosen to function the parade’s grand marshal as a result of his excellent document of giving again to the local people, in line with the Associates of the Christmas Parade. His household has organized many charitable occasions, together with his annual Bicycle roundup for underprivileged kids, and he has hosted a number of occasions to assist first responders and youth sports activities.
Practically 100 parade items will participate within the occasion together with floats, marching bands, dance troupes, baton twirling teams, bike items, and equine entries, amongst others. The lineup can even embody native elected officers, army items, enterprise homeowners, dozens of different neighborhood teams, and Santa Claus.
The on-air commentators for this yr’s broadcast of the parade will embody three people representing MCPS: Public Relations Director Kevin Christian, Chief Monetary Officer Theresa Boston-Ellis, and Superintendent Dr. Diane Gullett.
The parade shall be streamed stay on the MCPS YouTube channel. It should additionally air stay on the Marion Training Channel (MEC), in addition to on native cable programs together with Comcast (Channel 99) and Cox (Channel 12).
The parade replays will run on the Marion Training Channel by means of January 1, 2023, on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
These broadcasts are supplied as a neighborhood service by Marion County Public Faculties. The Ocala Christmas Parade is organized by the Associates of the Christmas Parade, a nonprofit group that’s made up of neighborhood volunteers.
For extra info, contact the MCPS Public Relations Workplace at 352-671-7555.
