Lighted parade starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday

    The Lighted Holiday Parade in Washington will begin earlier than usual this year. The parade begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, instead of at 7 p.m. as it has in the past. The parade starts at the high school and will go west on Washington Street before turning north onto Iowa Avenue and then proceeding around the square.

    Members of the Kiwanis AM?ers will line up the parade entries at 5 p.m., which is when registration starts. Pat Smith, secretary of the group, said that for many years he and Lonnie Milligan, another Kiwanis AM?er, were responsible for lining up the entries. This year, the club made it one of its group projects.

    ?The Fire Department gets the parade started, and once it?s going, our job is to keep everyone in line,? said Smith.

    Main Street Washington is in charge of putting on the parade for the second year in a row. Prior to that, the Washington Chamber of Commerce put on the parade for 14 years.

    Main Street Washington Director Amy Vetter said there were about 60 parade entries last year.

    ?It?s hard to judge how many there will be this year because we don?t require advance registration,? said Vetter. ?I would always like to see a big parade, but this is a chilly time of year. We feel it?s usually a good-sized parade.?

     One of the rules of the Holiday parade is that candy may not be thrown from moving vehicles, but only by people walking along the side of the parade. Vetter said it is a safety measure so children don?t run in front of moving vehicles. She said all of the parking on the outside of the square (nearest the businesses) will be blocked off, as will the outer section of the parking in the median.

    ?We reserved a wider parking area so kids don?t hide between parked cars,? she said. 

    Other events going on that day include the Jingle Bell run, which starts at Bodywrx at 4:30 p.m. The event is put on by track coach Steve Roth and serves as a fundraiser for the track team.

    Five o?clock marks the beginning of several events on the square. The Washington Choral Society will perform on the bandstand at that time. Free popcorn, hot dogs and cocoa will be given away. Hayrack rides will also be offered at 5 p.m., which will start at Central Park.

For more, see our Nov. 22 print edition.