High schools embrace chance to be part of the Staunton Christmas parade
STAUNTON — Joseph Childress gave the obvious answer to a question Monday night. A member of the Wilson Memorial High School marching band, Childress was asked the difference between marching in the Christmas parade and everything else the band does during the season.
"For starters, it's really cold," the Wilson senior said. "Your fingers get numb and it's tough to keep going."
Like other marching bands at area high schools, Wilson starts rehearsing for the season in the heat of the summer so they're ready for the first football game in August and, of course, competitions in September. So ending the season with temperatures in the 30s can be a bit of a shock to the system.
Wilson has one Christmas parade left next Saturday in Waynesboro. As a senior, Childress said he's thought more about the end of the marching season this year than he has in the past. As he stood in the parking lot Monday getting ready, he was planning to enjoy the experience in spite of the cold.
"There's a lot of spirit around it," Childress said. "I think it's a lot of fun seeing all the people come out. And it's kind of a fun, end-of-the-year thing to do with the band."
This year’s parade theme “A Cozy Christmas." Before the parade began, organizers expected 120 entries which included over 42 businesses, eight youth groups, 28 non-profits, eight religious organizations, six high school bands, and six music and dance performance groups. Plus, the two main attractions this year: The grand marshal, Spider-Man; and the jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus.
After opening remarks from Staunton Mayor Steve Claffey and the cutting of the ribbon by Spider-Man, the parade began at the intersection of Frederick and New streets, turned on Market and then again on Beverley, where most of the crowd was gathered, lining the street for blocks.
Like Wilson's marching band, high schools accounted for quite a few of the entries Monday night. And it wasn't just bands.
Shirley Kaufman is Buffalo Gap's FFA advisor. She said the school's FFA chapter tries to keep things simple and fun as far as the theme of their float.
"We puts lights around, make sure we have our banner up," Kaufman said. "It's more so letting people know that Buffalo Gap FFA is strong and going."
The group is strong, with 128 members in the Gap chapter.
Buffalo Gap junior Emory Seal started with FFA as a sixth-grader. His specialty is livestock judging, something he hopes to continue in college. In fact, schools as far away as Wyoming have already contacted him about coming to their school to join the judging team.
He said the only thing he doesn't like about riding in the Christmas parade is the cold. His dad jokes with him about not liking the cold yet considering going to school in Wyoming. He'll suffer the cold if it means a college scholarship and the chance to continue livestock judging.
And on Monday, he suffered the cold because Seal said the joys of the parade every year outweigh that one negative.
"I love being able to see the other floats and spend time with my friends and hang out with our ag teachers," Seal said. "We get to spend some time together and its just fun, especially when we see people we know and they wave at us or yell at us. It's fun."
Terri Caretti is one of the sponsors of the Riverheads drama club and a retired teacher. She has come to the Staunton Christmas parade just to watch the last five years, but in her first year working with the Riverheads drama department she wanted to get involved with the parade to get the word out about the work they're doing.
"We're trying to build up a community spirit and an interest in the theater program," Caretti said. "So we thought, why not? We'll march with whoever wants to come with us."
A lot of seniors will graduate this year, but Caretti is hoping younger kids join as she works to build up the arts program at Riverheads. Next semester, Riverheads will be doing a play, 'Radium Girls', in February and then, for the first time ever at the school, a spring musical.
"The students just have so much heart," she said. "It's good to see a school that's invested in sports also invested in the arts and trying to grow the program there."
Parade winners
Musical/Dance Performance: Back In The Groove
Children’s/Youth Group: Moose’s Youth Foundation
Religious Organization/Church: Faith Baptist Church
Non-Profit/Civic Organization: Staunton Elks Lodge #351
Large Business: City National Bank
Small Business: Hesson’s Ink
Children’s Choice: Blue Ridge Community College
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: High schools embrace chance to be part of the Staunton Christmas parade
