Hopkinsville’s Christmas parade and the Skatin’ on the Square have been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, city officials announced today. Another holiday event, the tree-lighting ceremony at Founders Square, will be live-streamed on Facebook.
The decision to cancel the events “was made with public safety first in mind,” Parks and Recreation Superintendent Tab Brockman said in a news release. “This decision was made unanimously in conjunction with city officials and sponsors, and after conversations with multiple parade participants.”
On Sunday, the health department reported 507 active cases of COVID-19 in Christian County. And today there were 30 patients hospitalized with the disease at Jennie Stuart Medical Center, the largest number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital at one time since the pandemic began in March.
In late October, city recreation officials announced they would keep the holiday parade by staging it as a reverse event. The plan was to make the floats and participants stationary while allowing the audience to drive by on Main Street to avoid having large crowds of people on downtown sidewalks.
However, in light of an escalation in COVID-19 cases and state recommendations to avoid activities that could result in more infections, officials decided to put the celebration on hold for a year.
“We are all disappointed to have to pause these wonderful Christmas activities but look forward to the return of the (Hopkinsville Electric System) Parade in traditional fashion and other festivities in 2021,” Brockman said.
Grand marshals for the 2020 parade — representing the Christian County Health Department and Emergency Management — will serve in that role next year. Groups that had registered for the parade will receive a refund. Toys already donated as part of the registration fee will be transferred to the Hopkinsville Fire Department’s Christmas for Kids program.
Meanwhile, the city is looking for an inspirational person to flip the switch during the ceremonial tree lighting at 6 p.m. Dec. 11. Local residents may nominate someone on Facebook.
Hopkinsville’s Christmas parade has been canceled only a handful of times going back nearly 90 years. It was on hold for about four years during the Great Depression, again in 1941 because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and in 1951 for a reason no one seems to recall, Christian County Historian William T. Turner previously told Hoptown Chronicle.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
