Everyone loves a parade.
But the time isn’t always right to host one.
This week the Highlands Chamber of Commerce made the difficult decision to cancel the annual Christmas parade, originally scheduled for Saturday night.
While the thought of losing yet another beloved event is not appealing, the decision to error on the side of caution is completely understandable.
For a relatively small town, Highlands has a high number of annual events to look forward to. The COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered a majority of those in 2020 and sent the Chamber of Commerce into contingency planning for the few that have survived. The Chamber has done its collective best to rethink and reformat events from the annual Fourth of July celebration to the town’s virtual Christmas tree lighting ceremony held on Nov. 28 via Facebook Live.
Highlands Christmas parade was also going to look very different in 2020, with a drive-thru format in place and the floats parked end to end in the middle of Main Street. The parade was also going to loop through Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park in order to showcase the town Christmas tree and provide a safe place for Santa Claus to greet guests.
Facemasks and social distancing were going to be implemented and hand sanitizer was going to be readily available – precautions that all of us have become accustomed to over the past 10 months.
But even taking all the usual steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 was simply not enough to outweigh the risks. As case numbers continue to grow locally, statewide and nationwide, the thought of hosting a parade and bringing together a crowd of people seems less and less like a good idea.
With the prospects of a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon and the hope of a return to normalcy in 2021, there is reason to be optimistic that the end of the pandemic may be approaching. But the fact is, that time isn’t here yet.
Cancelling the Christmas parade may not have been the most popular decision, but it was the safest and it was made with the health and well being of the community in mind.