Albany, Leesburg kick off Christmas parades on Saturday as towns big and small line up for holiday tradition

Alan Mauldin, The Albany Herald, Ga.
·3 min read

Nov. 26—ALBANY — It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and a plethora of parades, a surfeit of celebrations and a full calendar of festivals are on tap to spread the season's spirit in southwest Georgia.

Albany's 32nd annual Celebration of Lights on Saturday will deliver a "Rock & Roll Christmas" festival and parade, with the traditional Christmas Village of vendors open from 4-8 p.m.

The pre-parade entertainment will begin at 4:45 and continue until 5:45 p.m.

At a quarter 'til 6, the city Christmas tree will be lighted, with three nominees honored for the festival, Albany Downtown Manager Lequrica Gaskins said.

"One of the things I wanted to do — it's very important for me — is to make sure we always have an element of inclusion," she said. "We wanted to include a person who can do sign language. We're going to do sign language for two songs as part of the pre-show entertainment."

During their time around the Christmas Village, visitors might see characters including the Grinch, Japanese anime and others who are familiar from Christmases or TV shows past and present.

In the parade, the sights could include clowns on bicycle, a tractor or two, classic cars, motorcycle groups and some local politicians out to greet the crowd.

"At the end is the jolly old elf, Santa Claus," Gaskins said.

The parade is always a time to bring in visitors from out of town and refamiliarize Dougherty County residents with the downtown area, Barbara Rivera Holmes, president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, said.

"A Christmas parade is a tradition that brings people from all over the community," she said. "It celebrates the season. It celebrates the community. It celebrates the best of us.

"Any time you're bringing people out of the house and into the community, there's a benefit."

Visitors can check out some of the downtown stores or make a stop at the Albany Mall or other businesses while in town, as the clock is ticking down on finding the perfect gift for the people on Christmas lists.

While the internet makes it easy to do that shopping, there is a big benefit to keeping those local merchants in mind.

"We encourage people to visit local businesses," Holmes said. "About 68% of what is spent there stays in the community. There's a huge economic benefit to shopping locally. It also feels good to support your local community partners and businesses."

Also coming up on Saturday in Tift County, the city will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Tifton's founding along with the Christmas holiday.

The parade, which will kick off at 5 p.m., is themed "Decade the Halls," and floats can represent a decade of the area's past or envision the look of some time in the future. An accompanying street festival will continue from 6-10 p.m.

For area residents with friends and relatives in Leesburg, there's no need to worry about a conflict. The parade there kicks off at 10 a.m. and the festival ends at 2 p.m., so Dougherty County residents can support the nerdy city and be back in time for a second dose of holiday celebration in Albany.

Americus also will hold its parade on Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m., and Sylvester's is set to start at 6 p.m.

Down the road in Mitchell County, Pelham will hold its annual parade at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and Camilla's falls on Dec. 7.

The Moultrie Festival of Lights Christmas Parade is at 6 p.m. on Dec. 8.