Return to Water Street: Exeter Holiday parade promises to be a ‘celebration’
EXETER — The annual holiday parade is returning to downtown Exeter and organizers are hoping to recruit more parade floats to restart the local favorite tradition after COVID-19 forced a scaled-down drive-through parade last year.
The parade kicks off from the Osram parking lot and marches up Portsmouth Avenue and down Water Street Dec. 4. Organizer Beth Dupell said so far interest from local organizations and businesses for signing up their floats for the parade has been slower compared to years past.
“I’m hoping it’s the warm temperatures that don’t have people thinking about the holidays yet; it’s been so nice for this time of year lately,” said Dupell, who’s been an organizer of the holiday parade for more than 20 years. “We’re excited to be back with the community this year on Water Street.”
The parade’s theme this year is “Celebration,” which Dupell said was needed after the difficult year-plus everyone has faced.
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Dupell said holiday fair staples like the Exeter High School marching band and Santa Claus will mark the start and end of the procession, respectively. Also performing are the North Shore Pipe Band from Massachusetts and a southern New Hampshire ukulele ensemble.
“I love the tradition of being on Water Street and waving to people you know; parents seeing their kids in the band, children waving to Santa or Frosty the Snowman,” Dupell said. “This is the first free community-wide event so it’s great to be back home on Water Street. I’m just little concerned given how bad the weather was last year, hoping not a repeat.”
Last year, Dupell and her elf volunteers set up several holiday-themed vignettes along the roadway at Exeter High School and families drove by to get into the spirit of the season, albeit in a socially distanced way.
“The residents who drove through last year did a fantastic job to show appreciation for all the volunteers through their fogged car windows and through the pouring rain,” Dupell said. “Logistically, it’s as if we didn’t take a year off, but with us taking a year off from being on Water Street, we do wonder if some people didn’t realize the parade was coming up.”
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Anyone interested in participating in the parade is encouraged to contact parade organizers at ExeterHolidayParade@gmail.com. The deadline to register is Nov. 28, and Dupell said participants should monitor the Exeter Holiday Parade Facebook page for updates on when an organizational meeting for the parade will take place.
Traditionally, Dupell said the parade has only charged businesses to take part and local nonprofits and the scout troops, for instance, were not. This year, she said, businesses that would like to be in the parade but would experience hardship paying the registration fee will not be charged.
“If there are any businesses who are concerned about the registration fee, we want them to reach out to us because we don’t want to turn anyone away who wants to take part,” Dupell said. “The parade might be a little shorter this year, but you can’t replicate being on Water Street. So we want everyone to come out and help kick off the holidays this year and have a great time.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH Holiday parade promises to be a ‘celebration’
