Downtown Mooresville prepares for Christmas parade

If hearing “Silver Bells” at retail stores since Halloween hasn’t been enough to stir your holiday spirit, never fear. After Tuesday, it’ll begin to look a lot like Christmas in downtown Mooresville.

Nothing kicks off the holiday season quite like the downtown Christmas parade, which makes its way down Main Street every year the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Thousands of people are expected to gather for the parade, which is put on “by the community, for the community,” says Ron Johnson, chairman of the Mooresville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The parade is a tried-and-true tradition, enjoyed by generations since 1944.

“My great-grandson is seven and has been at every parade since he was a baby, and there are people a lot older than him that have been coming since they were his age,” Johnson said.

He said one reason so many people love Mooresville’s parade is because it is reminiscent of hometown parades from days gone by. And that’s because in 66 years, “we’ve never changed anything,” Johnson said. “Sixty-six years ago, they kicked off the parade on a Tuesday afternoon with Scout troops, bands, businesses and churches walking down the street. Today, it’s the same thing. We have never changed the flavor.”

Anna Kooiman, a co-host on “FOX News Rising, Charlotte” will serve as this year’s grand marshal.

Johnson said the parade will feature 3,500 to 4,000 participants in about 150 units.

“That sounds like a big number, but take Acrofitness for example,” he said, explaining that the popular fitness/tumbling program in Mooresville has traditionally boasted up to 400 parade participants who flip, hula-hoop and dance their way down Main Street, from Statesville to Mills avenues.

This year, Mooresville-based Travel Plus of North Carolina will collect toys and donations for Toys for Tots during the parade. Marines and Travel Plus personnel will be stationed with collection barrels at the corner of North Main Street and East Moore Avenue from 1:30 to 6 p.m.

Need a little extra incentive to give? Shane Proctor, a top-ranked professional bull rider in the Built Ford Tough Series World Finals, will be on hand for autographs and photos in exchange for donations.

Parade kick-off is at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Even beginning that early, Johnson said, it’ll be dark before Santa and his reindeer – who always end the parade – roll down Main Street.

But the downtown holiday celebrations don’t end after the parade. Throughout the month of December, downtown Mooresville will become a Christmas village of sorts, complete with Christmas trees, a festive light show, Santa visits and nostalgic horse-drawn wagon rides.

Take a stroll through the quaint John Franklin Moore park, at the corner of Main Street and Center Avenue, which will be adorned with Christmas trees decorated by downtown businesses, said Kim Atkins, executive director of the Mooresville Downtown Commission. And don’t forget to take the family downtown for the annual wagon rides, accompanied by Christmas carols by local church choirs, hot chocolate at extended-hour downtown businesses and of course, visits with Santa. The three-Friday event – Dec. 3, 10 and 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. – is weather-permitting and free of charge.

“Downtown offers a great family atmosphere and is a great place to build memories and traditions,” Atkins said.

She said the commission is excited about its new addition to downtown’s holiday celebrations: a light show – featuring up to 35,000 lights – on Town Hall’s lawn.The lights, set to music, will automatically recur throughout every evening in December. The downtown commission paid for the lights, and a Christmas-light enthusiast from Mooresville volunteered to create the show.

This article was originally published in Mooresville Weekly on Nov. 19; find it here: http://mooresvilleweekly.com/news/2010/11/downtown-prepares-for-christmas-parade/