Organizers have pulled back the date of the Cedartown Christmas Parade by one day to avoid a conflict with Rockmart’s event.

Cedartown Fire Chief Sammy Stephens, one of the organizers, said the decision to move the parade from Friday, Dec. 4 to Thursday, Dec. 3 will help avoid a lot of confusion.

“We were getting people who were building floats, trying to decide if they were going to be in the Rockmart parade or ours,” Stephens said. “Rockmart’s bands have always marched in our parade, and Cedartown’s in there’s, and that wasn’t going to happen this year.”

The parades were originally going to be a week apart. However, Rockmart was forced to reschedule its parade for Friday, Dec. 4 in order to include the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses. The attraction was only available for that date.

By the time Rockmart locked down the date for having the Clydesdales appear, Cedartown also had already committed to that same date, Stephens explained.

Both communities were going ahead with dual events on the same night, until the decision was made earlier this week by Cedartown officials to reschedule their parade.

As it stands now, Rockmart’s parade begins at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4. A rain date has been set for Tuesday, Dec. 8.

Cedartown’s parade begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3. A rain date has been set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.

Parade route

The parade will begin at Marietta Street and proceed north on Main Street. It will end at the traffic light at the intersection of Main and Queen streets. Parade participants will end in the parking lot of the shopping center behind the Wendy’s restaurant.

Fireworks

The parade will be capped this year by Cedartown’s first Christmas fireworks show. The show is scheduled to begin 30 minutes after the parade ends.

The fireworks are a welcome addition made possible through the sponsorship of Redmond Emergency Medical Services, Stephens said.

“The fireworks will be set off from the Boys and Girls Club,” Stephens said. “They will burst 200 to 300 feet above the parking lot (behind Wendy’s).”

Stephens said the fireworks show should be visible from all locations in the north side of town.

The fireworks operator has planned a show of 12 to 15 minutes in length, with fireworks expected to fire every five seconds or so, Stephens said.

Parade rules, details

Parade participants are reminded of the following:

The parade theme this year is “Home for Christmas”.

Organizations that enter floats can win up to $500. Each division for the float competition is to have first, second and third prizes – first prize is $500, second prize is $300 and third prize is $200.

Floats will compete in three divisions – Category 1, Open Church; Category 2, Open; and Category 3, Most Outstanding.

Floats may not have a Santa Claus character. The city already has a float with Santa at the end of the parade.

Float participants may not throw candy to children, due to safety concerns.

Parade entries need to be processed by the city before Monday, Nov. 30. A parade entry application can be picked up at Cedartown City Hall, 201 East Ave., Cedartown. Applications may also be printed from the city’s website (www.cedartowngeorgia.gov).