Rome Christmas Parade draws more visitors than organizers expected
The day after the Rome Christmas Parade had Janet Byington’s truck looking like “the land of the deflated inflatables,” as she calls it.
The main organizer for the parade was busy taking down lights and decorations Wednesday afternoon at the State Mutual Stadium parking lot, where this year’s static parade took place on a very cold Tuesday night.
“I was hoping for 500 cars (to drive through),” she said. “You never know when you try something new if it’s going to work. A lot of people are uneasy about getting out right now.”
But they got out. Even though the format of the parade changed dramatically because of COVID-19 restrictions, Byington said the police estimated between 6,000 and 7,000 cars came through the parade.
“A conservative estimate was that 24,000 people attended the parade,” she said. “The Miracle on Braves Boulevard was just magical.”
There were challenges, however. Byington said when the parade committee decided to proceed with the event as a static parade, they had about 32 entries. By parade day that number had dropped to 19.
“But we filled in with fire trucks, John Deere tractors, inflatables, decorations and the trees were lit up,” she said. “And of course the floats that did participate were really well done with quality decorations and creativity.”
After all, she continued, the parade was about thanking first responders and healthcare workers who have been on the front lines against the current pandemic.
Byington feels good about the parade’s outcome.
“From an adult point of view they might say they sat in line a long time or there weren’t a ton of floats, but when you look at it through the children’s eyes they were smiling and yelling ‘Merry Christmas’ and the stadium’s intercom system was piping out Christmas music. It was just a festive atmosphere and the kids never noticed the negatives.”
Amid the tumbling, the camels, the lights and, of course, a sighting of Santa and Mrs. Claus, Redmond Regional Medical Center took first place for the adult float while first-time participant Waffle House walked away with second place. In the children’s category, Tumble Time was the winner while Dawn’s Diamond Twirlers came in second.
In the end, Byington said, it was a lot easier to put on the traditional parade of 125 floats down Broad Street than it was to orchestrate a 19-float static parade in a parking lot. But it was worth it.
“People came from all over, from counties and states away, because many parades in other places had been canceled,” she said. “We know how important the Christmas parade is to many families. We weren’t about to give up on that.”