Clue: Christmas parade likely to be among largest in region

Nov. 2—All aboard the Polar Express!

That's the theme for this year's "Christmas on the Square" in downtown Somerset and annual Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce Community Christmas Parade: "The Polar Express," based on the 1985 Chris Van Allsburg book and the 2004 animated film starring Tom Hanks.

Applications for the parade are currently available on the Chamber of Commerce's website, at somersetpulaskichamber.com/2022-chamber-christmas-parade/.

"We are in the throes of organizing our community Christmas parade," said Chamber Executive Director Bobby Clue. "We've been working on it now for almost a month already, getting everything prepared."

The parade is the "centerpiece" of the overall Christmas on the Square festivities, all of which will take place on Saturday, December 3.

Christmas on the Square is a large-scale effort involving multiple organizations in the community. Clue pointed to the participation of Somerset 106 Radio, doing the Vendor Village on the Judicial Center Plaza, and a partnership with the Pulaski County Public Library to do a children's "Book Walk" the day of the parade, with eight locations where kids can go to hear a favorite holiday story read to them.

"This year should be the best (Book Walk) that we've ever had," said Clue.

Also the Chamber's 2019 Leadership Lake Cumberland Class will be bringing back the ice skating rink on the plaza, starting December 1, and running through December 31.

And always, the Chamber is coordinating with Downtown Somerset Development Corporation for the storefront decoration contest.

But of course, the "anchor is the Christmas Parade" itself, noted Clue, which will start at 5 p.m. on December 3, following the same route from Meece Middle School down East Mt. Vernon, turning at College Street, down Oak Street, and finally up Main Street and around the Fountain Square, ending off South Central Avenue. (The route is also available on the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce's web page.)

"We're going to have a massive parade," said Clue. "Just based on entries that we've already received ... it's been a lot. To have as many as we have for October 31, I'm predicting that we're going to have anywhere between 100 and 125 entries this year. That would be one of the, if not the, largest parade in southeast Kentucky."

Registrations can be received all the way up to two or three days before the parade, so everyone can have a chance to participate, but the entry fee goes up to $125 after Friday, November 18. Before that, the fee is $100.

"There's plenty of time for people to get their applications in at a discounted rate," said Clue.

The parade will be livestreamed, with emcees Jon Burlew and Misty Phillips, from Somerset 106.

"If you live in Florida and you have a grandchild that's in the Christmas parade, you can have an amazing experience from the comfort of your home watching our Christmas parade," said Clue. "We have got professional audio and videographers that are coming in, we're going to pay them to put everything together. ... We're very excited to have Jon and Misty emceeing our parade this year."

In recent years, the ceremonial lighting of the Christmas tree on the Fountain Square has been moved to a different date, and that will continue this year, with the tree being lit up on December 1, the Thursday before the parade Saturday. The ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m., and will involve Somerset Mayor Alan Keck and Pulaski Judge-Executive Steve Kelley, as well as singing and an appearance by Santa Claus himself, participating musically in a "Santa Jam" with kids.

"(The parade) just looks better when the tree is already pre-lit," said Clue. giving Kelley credit for that realization.

The Book Walk will begin at the Pulaski County Public Library at 10 a.m. on December 3, with the Vendor Village opening at 1:30 p.m.

While staging the parade and Christmas on the Square can be a complicated undertaking, it's one that's worth every drop of winter sweat thanks to the joy it can bring to the smallest members of our community, noted Clue.

"The kids are why we put this together and why we put so much time and effort into it, and why so many different organizations unite under this whole 'Christmas on the Square' umbrella," he said. "I believe that there are children in our community where this might be the only positive experience they have the entire Christmas season. So we want to give them something great."