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Organizers cancel veterans parade; holiday parade still a go

High Point Enterprise - 10/14/2021

Oct. 14—HIGH POINT — The ongoing threat of the coronavirus pandemic again will prompt the cancellation of the High Point Veterans Day Parade, but organizers of the High Point Holiday Festival Parade plan to stage their celebration next month.

Veterans parade organizer Don Webb, who served in the U.S. Navy, said the event will be canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.

"Maybe next year," Webb told The High Point Enterprise on Wednesday.

The parade was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. Held for 36 years, the parade through downtown has been one of the largest Veterans Day parades in the state.

Meanwhile, the Guilford Merchants Association intends to hold the High Point Holiday Festival Parade after taking last year off because of the pandemic. The parade will take place at 3 p.m.Nov. 21 on its traditional route along N. Main Street downtown from the intersection of Green Drive to Montlieu Avenue.

Lead organizer Sharon Smith said four marching bands already have committed to participate.

"We already have more than 50 entries for the parade," Smith told The Enterprise.

Anyone interested in participating as an entry can apply at the website www.highpointparade.com

Smith said the recent easing of the delta variant COVID-19 threat and the large outdoor space along the parade route encouraged organizers to go ahead with the event.

"High Point is blessed with such wide streets that not only can the participants spread out, but so can people along the parade route," Smith said Wednesday.

Traditionally held on the Sunday before the week of Thanksgiving, the High Point Holiday Festival Parade has drawn between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors.

The parade was founded in 1925. Prior to last year, the parade was canceled only during World War II.

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul

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