It's That Time Of Year Again

The Holiday Parade and Winter Lights Festival in downtown Blacksburg will be held Friday. Blacksburg will light the tree of the holiday season and celebrate with a parade as well as other holiday events. The theme this year for the parade is Sounds of the Season.

The Holiday Parade and Winter Lights Festival will have many events for the general public to enjoy. Randy Hall, the event coordinator from Blacksburg Parks and Recreation, has a variety of events planned before the parade begins at 7 p.m.

Throughout the event, holiday crafts for children will take place downtown, as well as a craft fair from local vendors in the Farmers Market. At 4:30 p.m, there will be pictures with Santa, and a performance by the Performing Arts Institute of Virginia Children's Choir and sing-a-long at the Lyric Theater. For the pictures with Santa, parents must bring their own camera. At 5:30 p.m. the tree lighting ceremony will take place with music provided by the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg.

At 7 p.m. the parade, cosponsored by Blacksburg Parks and Recreation, Virginia Tech Chapter of Circle K and the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg, will begin with line-ups on Perry Street. Hall said he is accepting applications to be in the parade now. To find an application go to www.blacksburg.gov/recreation and under holiday events the application is available.

Tubachristmas is a special program hosted this year at the parade and coordinated by Elizabeth Cronne from Virginia Tech. Tubachristmas is a national and worldwide event and allows the general public to join together to perform a selection of Tubachristmas Christmas carols.

Tubachristmas was founded as a tribute to William J. Bell, an artist and teacher, in 1974. The first performance was on Dec. 22, 1974, in Rockefeller Center in New York City. According to Elizabeth Cronne, this organization accepts all age groups and skill level participants to join in a brass band of tuba players.

The participants must pay a fee of $5 to join and will have one rehearsal the afternoon before the parade, then will perform for the parade. Participants are encouraged to wear bright colors and holiday apparel.

Laureen Blakemore, special events director for the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg, said she wants people to know that tuba players are still needed and to contact events@downtownblacksburg.com for registration information.

Another special program hosted this year at the Holiday Parade and Winter Lights Festival is a charity drive by the Montgomery County Christmas Store. Patsy Dillon-Long, who is involved with this charity, said that it is a local charity founded in 1982 by a group of church members.

The charity’s goal was to provide a free service that went beyond providing just a pre-packaged box to people in need. How need is determined is based on income, children, and the elderly.

Dillon-Long said The Christmas Store is set up like a typical store such as Target, where people in need can come and choose what they want rather than just being handed a box with items already picked out. People are given items based on a points system, with each person given a certain number of points based on their need, and all the goods will have a certain point value.

The Montgomery County Christmas Store will have volunteers collecting donated items at the parade in time for the holiday season.

In case of inclement weather the rain date for the parade will be Dec. 5, at 1p.m. The Blacksburg Holiday Parade and Festival of Lights will be a kickoff to the holiday season full of fun and unique events for all the residents of Blacksburg to enjoy.