2007 Christmas Parade ready to roll Thursday

Published 6:00 am Thursday, November 29, 2007

Streets will be filled with holiday revelers Thursday as the2007 Brookhaven Christmas Parade rolls through downtown beginningat 7 p.m.

“We’ve tried to make it as interesting as possible this year,”said Rita Rich, parade chairwoman for the Brookhaven-Lincoln CountyChamber of Commerce. “You never know what the floats are going tobe until you see them.”

Rich said the parade will include many cars, floats and at leastfive marching bands. Committed thus far are bands from JacksonState University, Copiah-Lincoln Community College, AlexanderJunior High School, Loyd Star Attendance Center and Brookhaven HighSchool.

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“To me, music makes the parade,” Rich said.

She said the bands will perform on the march as always, but willbe permitted to halt and perform only twice, once on each side ofthe railroad tracks, to keep the parade rolling smoothly.

Even though music is the most important attraction in the paradeto Rich, she said another crowd favorite will be the Lawn ChairSociety. As tradition demands, the society will stop marching,unfold its portable furniture and just sit for a spell in themiddle of the street whenever Patsy Warren, the Lawn Chair Societyparade leader and former Brookhaven High School majorette, socommands by her whistle.

The parade will be lead by this year’s Miss Merry Christmas,Eleanor Valentine, a senior at Brookhaven High School. She is thedaughter of Dennis and Amy Valentine and will preside over theleading elements of the procession.

Most likely riding atop a Porsche, close to Miss MerryChristmas, will be Homer Richardson, the parade’s grand marshal andLawn Chair Society member, a transplanted Brookhaven resident whohas lived in the community for 18 years.

“Rita called me from the chamber and said that I had beenselected to be the grand marshal, though I’m still trying to figureout why,” Richardson said with a laugh. “I consider it quite anhonor. I’ve known many of the former parade marshals and they areall people that I have a great respect for.”

Rich said everyone who is participating in the parade needs togo to the chamber of commerce office to fill out an informationsheet, an essential document that allows the chamber to organizethe procession. The price of participation is $35 per car or floatand $10 per each horse or motorcycle.

The parade will follow its usual route:

* Start at the post office on Cherokee St.

* Turn east on Cherokee St.

* Right on Whitworth Ave.

* Left on Chickasaw St. at the chamber of commerce.

* Across the railroad tracks and left on Railroad Ave.

* Right at Cherokee St.

* Left on First St.

* Left on Monticello St.

* End around the Piggly Wiggly on Monticello St.

Police Chief Pap Henderson said several streets from MonticelloSt. south to Chickasaw St. will be closed, but the department hasprepared alternate routes for traffic.

The parade is expected to last around an hour and a half.