Abingdon Christmas Parade Rings In The Season

ABINGDON, Va. – Hundreds of people turned out despite the cold and the snow Friday for the Abingdon Christmas Parade, the first of the season in the Tri-Cities region. Though the crowd was thinner than usual, those watching along Main Street said the snow and 20-degree temperatures served only to make the atmosphere more festive.

“It’s cold,” said a blanket-wrapped Joby Johnson, 12, of Bristol, Tenn., who was wearing a big grin on his face and carrying a big bag of candy collected during the parade.

He said the candy was his favorite part, but the snow is what made it feel like Christmas.

Many who braved the cold said attending the parade is a tradition.

“Even though we don’t live here anymore, it’s good to come back,” said Kristie Montgomery, a senior at University of Virginia’s College at Wise who grew up in Washington County, Va., and was here with friends. “It’s like what starts the season.”

Sarah Moore, a senior at Emory & Henry College who graduated with Montgomery from Patrick Henry High School, said they always attended the parade while in high school.

“It’s perfect today because you’ve got the snow and the Martha [Washington Inn], and the parade,” Moore said. “It’s all Christmassy.”

John Despard, of Bristol, Tenn., said the parade is a family tradition.

“We come every year,” he said, although he noted that this is the first time he remembers snow at the parade.

His daughter, 5-year-old Grace Olivia Despard, said her favorite part was the bands.

“They play pretty sounds,” she said.

Like many of the children and adults along the parade route, she watched while wrapped in a blanket. Others sat in vehicles parked along Main Street to keep warm.

As planned this year by the Kiwanis Club of Abingdon, which runs the parade, the event was much shorter than in recent years – and Main Street re-opened to traffic just an hour after it began.

“We’re happy with the way it went,” said Gary Crane, president of the Kiwanis club, “and we hope it improves in the future.”

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