Washington celebrates Palm Sunday with parade

Nursing home residents of Washington got to see Palm Sunday in a different way this year. The Washington Area Ministerial Association hosted a Palm Sunday car brigade that started at the Washington County Fairgrounds and drove through three different nursing home parking lots.

'We wanted to do this last year, but things fell through with COVID and permission,” the Rev. Erin Kaye of Washington United Presbyterian Church said.

Many church members of Washington and the surrounding communities showed up to show their support of the religious holiday. More than 50 cars took part in the car parade, and even the Washington Police Department and the Washington Fire Department participated by controlling traffic flow.

'We actually wanted to do the parade in the morning, but there were too many concerns about people being out on the curbs,” Pastor Jason Collier of United Church of Crawfordsville said. 'COVID still is a thing, but at least this way, we'll be able to celebrate safely.”

Despite the windy conditions, people participating in the parade drove through the nursing home parking lots waving their palm leaves and honking their horns. Some residents at the Pearl Valley Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center stood outside and watched.

'We had five residents outside and about 10 more inside that watched from the windows while remaining socially distanced,” Nicole of Pearl Valley said. 'The residents really enjoyed it, and even though some of the older gentlemen would've preferred to see more older cars, they all were glad that the churches had the parade for them.”