Albany and Lee County gearing up for Christmas parades
Jim West
ALBANY — Christmas is approaching, and in this neck of the woods, the holiday will be heralded Saturday by festive parades in Albany and in Leesburg.
Leesburg’s Spirit of Christmas Parade and Festival will go from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m, with the parade itself starting at 10 a.m. on Main Street at Peach Avenue near Lee County High School and moving toward downtown.
Officials say festival entertainment will include acts such as Broadway Bound, Cheyenne Lawing, Colt McClung and John Hunter. In addition the festival will feature a dance company performance, the youngest Elvis Presley impersonator in Southwest Georgia, the Lee County High School Chorus and a doggie pet parade.
As in past years, there will be pony rides, train rides, food vendors, and a rock climbing wall on the streets of Leesburg, said Lesley Barbosa, director of operations for the Lee County Chamber of Commerce.
Sana Claus will once more act as grand marshal for the parade, Barbosa said, which will showcase around 100 entries including the Lee County High School Marching Trojans, law enforcement agencies, scout packs, Shriners, Elks, beauty queens and others.
The 24th Albany Christmas Parade, themed “Promise of Christmas,” will begin immediately after the ceremonial lighting of the Christmas tree at 6 p.m. on the lawn of the Government Center on Pine Avenue, said Lorie Farkas, parade coordinator. According to Farkas, the tree will lit by Evelyn Jones, daughter of the late Olympic Track and Field star Alice Coachman.
Beginning at Davis Street, the parade will advance past the Flint RiverQuarium and Riverfront Park then south on Front Street to West Broad Avenue before ending at Friendship Baptist Church.
Officials say the parade will present more than 100 total entries, including motorcycles, horses and available food vendors. In addition, an Army band as well as school bands from several cities will be joining high school marching bands from the Albany area.
“We have bands coming from as far away as Atlanta,” Farkas said. “We’re getting to be really well known around the state.”
The parade will led by Madison McCoy, daughter of Dougherty assistant county administrator Michael McCoy, Farkas said.
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