The Holidays are in Full Swing in Wilkesboro

On the afternoon of Saturday, December 3, the streets of Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro will be lined with parents holding tight to their little ones’ hands, kids up on shoulders and families bundled up in hats and mittens, all eagerly watching the parade that meanders through both towns. The traditional event is a much-loved celebration for our county, and unlike many small-town parades, this one travels through two different downtowns, making the most of the holiday festivities.

The spectators lining the streets get to enjoy all the fun and excitement of the marching bands, floats, classic cars, horses, firetrucks and more that make up the Wilkes County parade. But the real heroes are the volunteers from the Chamber of Commerce who help get everything organized and running smoothly.

One of the best parts of the Wilkes County Christmas Parade are the floats. This year’s theme, “All Aboard the Polar Express” will guide the decorating. From pick-ups pulling a trailer full of cub scouts to larger flat-bed trucks with a winter wonderland scene, each group that sponsors a float in the parade takes time to decorate and get in the spirit. Local businesses, non-profits and community organizations spend the weeks leading up to the parade carefully planning their entry, figuring out just the right scene to create on the float to entertain the people along the parade route.

The day of the parade, all the planning comes together as people meet up to decorate their floats. “It’s really sort of an organized chaos getting all of the participants lined up the day of the parade,” says Linda Cheek, president of Wilkes Chamber of Commerce. “Fortunately some of the larger floats arrive early so they can be first in line, as we line folks up for the parade route upon arrival. It’s so much fun to watch as they decorate and get ready for the judging and then the parade.” 

The Chamber of Commerce announces a theme each year for the contest, and entries can win one of four awards:

Grand Mashal’s Award chosen by the grand marshal. This year that honor goes to Terri Parsons, for all her work in supporting the efforts to bring racing back to Wilkes County.

Mayor’s Award chosen by the mayors of North Wilkesboro and Wilkesboro, Mark Hauser and Mike Inscore

Chairman’s Award chosen by the chairman of the chamber’s board of directors, Randall Parsons

Best of Theme Award chosen by all the judges

“Knowing there are awards helps drive the enthusiasm for decorating the floats,” Cheek says. “Most groups work diligently to follow the theme and really make their floats look great, and each winner receives a large banner signifying they won the award that can be placed on the float for them to showcase throughout the parade.”

In addition to the floats that paid entry fees ahead of time and other known entries such as the four Wilkes County Schools marching bands, there are always the day-of entries that come along, making lining up a bit of a challenge, but a nice one to have to work with. “We never know exactly how many participants we’re going to have, as some people wait until the day of the parade to make a decision,” Cheek says. “If they weather is nice, we have a great deal of classic cars show up and many more horses. Over the past couple of years we’ve had huge parades with over 100 entries!”

The parade starts in North Wilkesboro with the chief of police for the Town of North Wilkesboro leading the parade, then as it crosses the Yadkin River Bridge the chief of police of the Wilkesboro Police department takes the lead through that city.

The parade isn’t the only big event happening on December 3. Make sure to take advantage of all the Wilkesboro Christmas activities.

Christmas in the Commons. As the parade winds down, more festivities gear up. The Commons in front of the Wilkes Heritage Museum plays host to the tree lighting for Wilkesboro, with food trucks, Santa Claus and other activities for kids.

Gingerbread House Festival. Before the parade, take a stroll through the 1915 building to view the entries in the Wilkes Literacy gingerbread house competition. Houses will be on display Friday, December 2 through Saturday, December 3.