LUMBERTON — The skies will clear but there will be a chill in the air Saturday for the first in a long line of Christmas parades scheduled throughout Robeson County.
The National Weather Service predicts sunny skies and a high in the mid-60s on parade day.
The Lumberton Christmas Parade will begin at 10 a.m., with Wyatt Johnson, a retired longtime city councilman, heading the march through the city as grand marshal. The route starts in Historic Downtown Lumberton and follows Elm Street to Biggs Park Mall.
The parade will usher in the holiday with marching bands, elaborately decorated commercial floats, original and unique homemade floats, and pageant queens and kings. There also will be carolers singing Christmas classics, Shriner units, rescue vehicles, dignitaries, antique tractors and vehicles, and, of course, Santa Claus to mark the parade’s end and the start of the holiday season.
Providing commentary for this year’s parade will be Joe Butler and Rebekah Lowery. The parade will be filmed by Brian Lindsey and air on WNCP TV Channel 6 on Nov. 22, which is Thanksgiving Day, at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. and every Thursday at the same time until Christmas.
Other towns across the county have also scheduled parade and holiday events.
The town of Rowland will hold its Christmas parade on Nov. 24 starting at 10 a.m. at Rowland Middle School. Contact the town at 910-422-333 for more information.
Fairmont’s 12th annual Holiday on Main will be on Nov. 30. Festivities begin with a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m.
The town of Marietta and the White House Volunteer Fire Department again will collaborate for the 32nd annual Christmas parade on Dec. 1 at 11 a.m. The deadline to enter a float is Monday. For information on how to enter a float, call Donna Stubbs at 910-628-8103, John Bare at 910-628-9368 or Mayor Justin Oliver at 910-628-6556. For vendor information, call Danny Campbell at 910-628-6008.
The St. Pauls Christmas Parade will begin at 3 p.m. on Dec. 1. For more information, contact Jeff Walters at 910-865-4196.
The Pembroke Twilight Christmas Parade will be on Dec. 6. The parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. at Givens Performing Arts Center on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke and will end at Pembroke Elementary School. Lineup is at 3:30 p.m. After the parade, Christmas caroling and the tree lighting will take place in Milton R. Hunt Memorial Park.
A Christmas in Red Springs event is set for Dec. 8. The Christmas parade begins at 3 p.m. For more information, contact the Red Springs Arts Council at [email protected] or call Maggy Morley at 910-988-1315.
Maxton’s Christmas parade is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 8. Lineup will start at the Townsend Middle School.
