Albany, Lee County Christmas parades herald the arrival of the holiday season

ALBANY — Blowing in with cooler weather, the spirit of Christmas has arrived and can be seen throughout Albany and the surrounding area from decorations on light poles, nativity scenes in front of churches and homes adorned with holiday cheer. But nowhere is the holiday spirit more present then at the annual Albany and Lee County Christmas parades.

Always held the first Saturday of December, the parades herald the arrival of the holiday season.

Leesburg’s Spirit of Christmas parade and festival begins at 8 a.m. and continues until around 2 p.m. on Saturday. The parade itself starts at 10 a.m. and culminates with the arrival of Santa, according to Leslie Barbosa, director of operations for the Lee County Chamber of Commerce.

“We will have over 40 vendors on Starksville Avenue,” said Barbosa. “There will be food, such as funnel cakes, hot dogs, sausage dogs and snow cones.”

According to Barbosa, the parade route will begin at Lee County Health and Rehab on Main Street and proceed through downtown past the courthouse.

“It looks like we are going to have over 100 entries this year,” said Barbosa. “We will also have live entertainment.”

This year’s entertainment will include The Dance Company, Twin Oaks Elementary School’s fourth-grade performance music group, the Lee County High School Chorus and the Seventh Hour Jazz Band, according to Barbosa.

“There will be pony rides and bouncy houses for the kids,” she said. “And Santa Clause will end the parade.”

The city of Albany will mark the 26th anniversary of its parade.

“This is Albany’s 26th annual parade,” said Lorie Farkas, the parade coordinator. “I started it 26 years ago. It’s a small group of people, a wonderful team, who put this event on that about 40,000 people come to and look forward to every year. This year the theme is ‘The Heart of Christmas Is Love.’”

According to Farkas, the parade will begin after the lighting of the city Christmas tree which will take place at 6 p.m. on the square in front of the downtown Government Center.

“After a year filled with police being shot and citizens being shot, this year we wanted to honor the police,” said Farkas. “They are here to keep us safe and to keep us from living in anarchy. So we are honoring the Dougherty County Police, the Albany Police Department and the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office. (Representatives of the police organizations) are going to light the tree.”

According to Farkas, a choir of law enforcement officials will sing carols prior to the tree lighting.

“The parade became a regional parade years ago,” said Farkas. “People come from all over. This year we have over 100 entries, including a large number of floats, the Army Band, horses, entertainment groups and we always have a child lead the parade. I love the Bible verse that says, ‘A child will lead them.’

“The parade begins at Pine and Davis and will proceed down past the RiverQuarium and make a horseshoe back up Broad, culminating with Santa and Mrs. Clause at 8 p.m.”

Farkas encouraged spectators to bring their lawn chairs, enjoy some Christmas cheer and make some wonderful memories with their families.

“I think memory, at the end of your life, is what you have,” she said. “Memories are what hold families together. Families share experiences, and this parade, for 26 years, has been creating memories. We now have 26-year-olds who can bring their children to see the parade that they saw as a child.”

For more information about the Albany Christmas Parade call (229) 439-4218. For information about Leesburg’s Spirit of Christmas Parade, call the Lee County Chamber of Commerce at (229) 759-2422.