December 2, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Christmas cheer and holiday spirit filled the town of Liberty on a bright sunny Sunday afternoon for the annual Christmas Parade.
With rains having forced a one week postponement of the Smithville Parade on Saturday, Liberty became the opening act for parade lovers in DeKalb County this year featuring a showcase of holiday themed floats, vintage automobiles and farm tractor, horse and mule drawn wagons, horseback riders, the DCHS band, scouts, kings and queens from the fair and various civic organizations, the grand marshal, WSMV meteorologist Daphne DeLoren , Mr and Ms. DeKalb County Dr. Hugh Don Cripps and Lora Webb, special entries from local businesses and utility companies, ATVs and motorcycles, Smoky the Bear and the Tennessee Forestry Division, emergency vehicles including the DeKalb County EMS, DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department featuring the Liberty Station, Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, Sheriff Patrick Ray, Constables, State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, and more including the star of the show, Santa Claus.
Parade participants began lining up at Salem Baptist Church and putting finishing touches on their floats as early as an hour before start time and then as the parade made its way down Main Street to the center of town it was greeted by hundreds who lined with street to get a good view and a chance to scoop up some of the candy tossed to the crowd by Santa and others in the parade.
After the parade, awards were presented to the best entries and drawings were held for prize giveaways.
Oakley’s Thrift Store of Smithville took 1st place for their float entry depicting the peanuts comic strip characters. Second place went to the Dowelltown Baptist Church with the theme “Unwrap the meaning of Christmas”.
In the category vintage automobiles/tractors, Jeff and Ellen Herrin of Smithville won 1st place for their 1953 Chevy 210 car. Second place went to Donnie Bratcher for his 1964 Chevy Impala.
In the entry for small kids, Zane Griffith of Dowelltown took 1st place and 2nd place went to Alexis Reynolds of Liberty. Both were operating ATVs.
The Liberty Parade was sponsored by the Town of Liberty and Liberty State Bank.
Sponsored by the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department, this year’s Smithville Christmas parade is set for Saturday, December 8. The line-up begins at 11 a.m. and the parade will depart Smithville Elementary School at 1 p.m. making its way down South Congress Boulevard to the Public Square. The deadline for entering the parade is Friday, December 7. Any entry after the deadline will be placed at the back of the parade line. To enter contact Jeff Wright at 615-597-6750 or John Poss at 931-349-5598
The Alexandria Christmas Parade will be Sunday, December 9 at 2 p.m. with the line-up at 1 p.m. on West Main Street. To enter, contact Jessica Cripps at the Alexandria City Hall to fill out an entry form. Call 615-529-2171 for more information.
(VIEW VIDEO OF SUNDAY’S 2018 LIBERTY CHRISTMAS PARADE BELOW)
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