ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Saturday evening saw the Liberal community ring in the Christmas season through the annual Downtown Christmas Parade, and as coordinator Earl Watt tells it, the conditions could not have been better.
“Kansas Avenue looked beautiful with the light poles being decorated for the Wrap-A-Lamp competition, that's brought something extra to Downtown Liberal the past few holiday seasons, and it's great to see that, and the City of Liberal also had the downtown area looking really nice with the lights and the tree at the 3rd Street Fountain,” Watt said. “The overall setting was as good as we could have hoped for because the weather was absolutely awesome plus all the trappings and everything else throughout the area. We also had about 25 float entries for this year, and they all looked amazing, especially the golf cart that was completely decked out and the Girl Scouts. The Eisenhower Middle School Band also brought something special to the parade playing some Christmas tunes, so we really appreciate them being part of everything, and I would love to see more school bands participate in the parade in the future. This was the first year the Christmas parade went from south to north, and I know there was a little confusion by some people who had set their watch posts up north and were waiting for it to come by Tractor Supply, but the parade has never gone that far because it's always either started at 6th Street or ended there. It was unfortunate they missed it, but I hope that's not an issue for them next year, because we'll be doing the south-to-north route again. I felt everything was done well overall, including the sound system thanks to John Watson, and we always appreciate Steve Leete providing some fun entertainment to everyone before the parade. Overall, I feel like it was another fun, successful Christmas parade, and everyone should be excited for next year's parade, because it'll be our 25th Downtown Christmas Parade, which is quite the milestone and should be really special for everyone.”
Watt added there was a lot to enjoy about this year’s parade.
“The music coming up the street from the Eisenhower Middle School Band was really neat – I was a band member myself when I was in school, so I always appreciate that. And them playing their Christmas songs was especially neat because they weren’t using flip folders or any music, so they were marching up the street with everything fully memorized, which is amazing for the middle school level,” Watt said. “There were also multiple floats that were super decked out in the Christmas spirit, and there were already multiple comments on our Facebook page by the end of that night, so people were really excited by what they were seeing. Something else that caught my eye was the size of the crowd – around the stage area and in the surrounding blocks, the crowd was multiple onlookers thick, so I was really impressed by the number of people who came out to watch the parade. I know Cory Barnett had pictures with Santa down the street by his office as well as some treats, and he also had quite a line. I also appreciated Lanning Brothers BBQ bringing me a pulled pork sandwich onstage, because I've had some of their barbecue before, and it's absolutely delicious, so I enjoyed that. With this being the first year switching the parade route, everything ended up going smoothly, and we staged everything over on Trail Street. That's been where everything's set up for the past few 4th of July parades as well, and I feel like that area being so open and easier to access is what's made other groups also have their parade routes go from south to north. I've already had some messages from people asking me when Liberal's next parade is, which I believe is Pancake Day, which is March 4, 2025.”
Next year will be the 25th iteration of the parade, and even though this year’s parade has just wrapped up, Watt said there are already discussions taking place about how to celebrate.
“The past few years, we've gotten some comments from the community about our past giveaways, so for next year, we're looking at a big prize that includes four wheels and a seat, so that's something the community should watch out for when the parade rolls around next year,” Watt said. “We would already have reached that milestone if it weren't for the year we had to skip the parade due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but otherwise, we're really excited to reach that milestone and still see as much community support as we do. There was another community group that was in charge of the Downtown Christmas Parade, but it got to be too big for them, and it was discontinued for a little while. Larry Howell, who was the advertising manager for the L&T at the time, came and asked us 'How would you feel if we picked up the parade?' and we were all enthusiastic about it. The idea was to give away a vehicle as a grand prize, and we found a classic Cadillac convertible to give away, so that started that trend. For the 25th anniversary, we're thinking about bringing back some aspects of the parade like that. The parade has continued to be a big part of the community because so many people care about it – I've had many people tell me they've been coming to the parade nearly every year since it started back up again, and it's great to hear those comments. We're very fortunate to provide this to the community, and we love giving back. The Wrap-A-Lamp competition has only been around the past few years, and it's already gained a bit of a following, which is great.”
Overall, Watt said, it was another successful parade for the community.
“We allowed people to come online and tell us what they think were the best floats, and that was available on the Leader & Times Facebook page, and we're always excited to have new ways for people to share their thoughts with us and be part of the judging process for this year,” Watt said. “The newspaper isn't about telling people what to think, our goal is to reflect what the community's thinking and doing, and we report that, so we want to see that engagement. We loved all the float entrants taking this opportunity to show their appreciation for the community this season, and we're really excited for the milestone celebration that will be taking place next year.”
