Loving a parade

By JEFFREY SIMMONS/Staff

They marched, rode and walked in the holidays on Saturday in Wytheville, Max Meadows and Ivanhoe.
All three communities held their Christmas parades over the weekend, and organizers had mixed feelings about the turnouts.
In order to avoid a conflict with a potential George Wythe High School football playoff game, the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce held its event earlier than usual this year, said Chamber Executive Director Jennifer Jones.
Even with the date change and competing activities – think the Virginia Tech vs. University of Virginia football game – Jones said the chamber was happy with the participation and turnout.
Onlookers two rows deep lined Main Street for a glimpse of everything from “antique tractors to beauty queens” who took part in the yearly event.
Some of those attendees migrated to Withers Park to take part in after-parade activities, including visits with Santa Claus and a tree-lighting ceremony.
“The activity in Withers Park was absolutely wonderful,” Jones said.
Parade winners were also announced and included: civic first place, Wythe County Girl Scouts 541, and civic second place, Red Hat Society; commercial first place, All State Insurance Agency, and commercial second place, Alliance Tractor-Trailer; and school first place, Bland Beta Club, and school second place, Discovery Island. First-place winners received $100 in chamber gift certificates, and second-place winners got $25 in gift certificates.
In cooperation with WYVE/WXBX, the chamber also started its Operation St. Nick, an effort to provide toys to needy children 12 and under in Wythe and Bland counties.
The project will continue through December, and the toys will be distributed by social services.
While Jones was pleased with Wytheville’s parade, Max Meadows parade organizer Libby Huddle was hoping for more participants.
She guessed that many residents were shopping or out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, which could have contributed to the low number of entries.
People, though, still came out to watch the Fort Chiswell High School band and cheerleaders, Max Meadows Volunteer Fire Department, and cars and tractors wind through the community.
“Oh Lord, the town was full; it always is,” she said.
She said organizers may look at changing the date next year.
An hour before the Max Meadows festivities, Ivanhoe residents took to the streets for a holiday celebration.
The community’s yearly lineup included a replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., with the names of local soldiers, and a float tribute to the late Osa Price, a longtime local store owner.
While the sirens and shuffling feet will be missing from Ivanhoe, Max Meadows and Wytheville this weekend, Rural Retreat should be alive with the sounds and sights of the season.
The town will hold its Christmas parade on Sunday, Dec. 2, at 2 p.m. Participants will line up at 1:30 p.m. at the high school.
Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 228-6611 or .