TAHLEQUAH —
With Halloween in the rearview mirror, Cherokee County residents are now getting ready for holiday parades.
The city of Tahlequah will present its annual Christmas parade Saturday, Dec. 1, while Hulbert will host its first Christmas autocade a week later on Saturday, Dec. 8.
The theme for Tahlequah’s 6 p.m. float procession is “A Tahlequah Christmas.” Beth Herrington, noted Tahlequah citizen, volunteer, historian and retired educator, will be this year’s grand marshal.
Applications for float entries can be obtained at the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce, and need to be turned in by Monday, Nov. 26, said Chamber Tourism Director Kate Kelly.
“We want to encourage people to go ahead and pick up applications and get them back as soon as they can. It costs $15 to enter the parade, and after the deadline, the fee will double,” Kelly said. “We urge people to get their entries in on time so they will be able to have all the information they need regarding some things, like attending the mandatory safety meeting. It will be held at the Armory Municipal Center.”
Kelly said getting float entries in quickly will also help parade organizers decide on the event’s presentation.
“There’s a great deal of work, effort and thought that goes into the lineup of the parade, which affects different components of the parade. There are stages,” she said. “For example, the big floats are at Gable Field. The bands are usually in the Haskell [Hall] parking lot. Decorated vehicles and fire trucks are on Crafton. It all comes together there at Crafton, but it comes from three or four different areas. We want all the people who come to watch to have a great parade, and we want everyone that’s in the parade to have a good experience.”
Those entering a float have been urged to use historic or noteworthy images of Tahlequah in the designs of their mobile and decorated platforms.
“The theme is open to interpretation, but we expect to see depiction of iconic images of Tahlequah, be it a building, the lake, the river or downtown,” said Kelly.
Hulbert’s inaugural parade will begin at 6 p.m., with the float line-up starting at 5 p.m. on Lake Region Road just off State Highway 51, said Mayor Shirley Teague. Teague said the town’s eldest citizen, Fern Girdner, will serve as grand marshal.
The theme for the parade is “An Old Country Christmas.”
“We’ve had a real good response. We’ve even had the Red Cross call us and ask about putting a float in the parade. We’re hoping it turns out really well,” Teague said. “I’m going to say we’ve got between 10 to 15 [floats entered at this time]. We’ve called over to Sequoyah and they may bring their band, but there’s nothing definite, yet. The churches will put in a float. We’re going to put in a float for the city. Security Alarms will be putting one in and Sequoyah State Park is putting in a float. We’ve just had an excellent response. And we’ve collected quite a bit of money for the cash giveaway. I think we’ve already got about $1,500 or something like that.”
Teague said patrons will earn a chance to win the cash giveaway when shopping at a Hulbert business.
“You’ll get one ticket with each purchase ,whether you spend one dollar or 100 dollars,” she said.
Applications to enter the parade can be obtained at the Hulbert City Hall or at businesses in town.
Local News
Two parades to grace Cherokee County streets this Christmas
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