Red Rolling Rally ready to pep things up in Barnstable ahead of Thanksgiving game
HYANNIS ― Amid all the preparations taking place in local kitchens, there is something else getting stirred up in Barnstable this week.
Organizers have cooked up a plan for good, old-fashioned town spirit, seasoned with colorful parade floats and a generous number of cheering spectators, all topped off with a dollop of Christmas in the form of Santa Claus.
Turkey and all the fixings aside, nothing says Thanksgiving quite like a Red Hawks versus Clippers Thanksgiving Day football game. With that in mind, the Quarterback Club has been busy cooking up the Red Rolling Rally to pep things up ahead of the big game.
Highlighting the Barnstable High School football and cheerleading teams, the rally is scheduled for Wednesday, stepping off at noon from the Transportation Center on the corner of Center Street, Old Colony Road and Main Street in Hyannis.
"This will be the third annual rolling rally. This was brought back from a tradition that spans back to our current players participating in the parade as young kids," Red Hawks Rolling Rally coordinator Rebecca Robke said.
The rally is expected to include a parade of 15 floats created by parents, students and staff, along with Hyannis and Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills fire trucks, a SWAT vehicle, and Barnstable Police Department cruisers.
"Santa will also be riding in the Coachlight Carpet antique car in the parade," Robke said. "Our principal and superintendent will also be joining in the event, most likely riding on the antique fire truck."
Barnstable High School football coach Ross Jatkola will command the lead in the SWAT vehicle.
Although there is no marching band in this year's event, a pep band that came together to raise spirits at Barnstable's home games this season will be at the ready as the floats arrive at the town green on South Street, where a pep rally will be held at the end of the procession.
"We will also have music by BHS student DJ Corey Calla of EpicCenter Productions," Robke said.
A historic matchup between Barnstable and Falmouth
Excitement ahead of the game is especially high this year because the Barnstable Red Hawks will once again meet their traditional Thanksgiving rivals, the Falmouth Clippers, on the gridiron.
The matchup started in 1895 − the same year the first professional football game took place in Pennsylvania. It's one of the state's longest-running football rivalries, according to the Barnstable High School Athletic Hall of Fame and school's athletic historical archives.
The two teams have faced each other since that time with some interruptions owing to war or other factors, and a couple of games in which Barnstable met another team besides Falmouth. The last time Barnstable played a team other than Falmouth on Thanksgiving Day was in 1943, versus Yarmouth, the archives indicated.
Robke said the rally will proceed for less than one mile from the transportation center to the Town Green.
"The best place to watch is along Main Street from the corner of Center Street to High School Road," she said. "We have been working with the town so businesses know the crowds are coming. The best place to park is in the North Street lots."
After leaving the transportation center, the rolling rally will travel down Main Street to Sea Street, take a left, and then a left on South Street. The parade will conclude at the back of Town Hall with the pep rally on the Green. There, Santa will greet the crowd and kick off the holiday season.
The event is scheduled to conclude at 2 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Red Rolling Rally ready to pep things up
