‘Tis the season to be jolly, and organizers of both parades in Taylor are focused on the bright side of things for this weekend’s festivities, slated to begin at 7 p.m. this Saturday on Main Street.
“I don’t think that this controversy will spoil the fun,” said Taylor’s Public Information Officer Stacey Osborne. “It’s a fun season, it’s a happy season, and it should be something that everyone gets to enjoy.”
Earlier this month, the city announced it will be sponsoring a second Very Merry Holiday Parade, slated for the same time and place as the Christmas Parade of Lights, the parade normally hosted by the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance.
The city said it made this move due to inclusivity concerns after TAMA organizers began requiring that all entries “must be consistent with traditional, biblical and family values” in response to a float from the LGBTQ+ organization, Taylor Pride, the year prior, which included individuals dressed in drag.
Despite the second parade, TAMA organizers said they are looking forward to the night and have received a number of calls about participation and expect people from all over to come out to see the lights.
“It will be a great day,” said organizer Tammy Eulenfeld. “We have had a lot of people calling in, a lot of people conveying their disappointment for the way things are going, but God is good all the time . . . All the lights are just so pretty at night, it just brings an excitement in, and then if we have a little bit of cool weather coming in, it just makes it even better. It just gets you in the spirit for Christmas. We just welcome everybody to come out. We pray for everybody’s safety and that it will be a blessed Christmas.”
While the Very Merry Parade is slated for the same time, Osborne said it will occur directly after the Parade of Lights.
Osborne said despite the controversy, she has received a good deal of positive feedback about the city’s decision.
“We have had people call who say they are grateful to us for doing what we are doing when they didn’t feel included before, happy that the city is progressing and moving forward,” Osborne said.
So far, about 18 entries have registered in the city’s parade, Osborne said.
“The people that have registered their floats, so far they seem really cute, like they are going to be really fun to look at,” she said. “The celebration afterwards at Heritage Square will be a lot of fun. We are going to be lighting a Christmas tree, and we will have carols, and there will be a live band performing, and there will be arts and crafts for the kids, and I think there will be an elf on a shelf there for people to take pictures with and they are still working out Santa Claus.”
Eulenfeld said Santa will be featured in the Parade of Lights and stick around for the end for the tree lighting ceremony.
“We line up in the park and then it comes down Twelfth Street, and then we start on Main and head south, and then we turn right on Third Street, and then they bring Santa around, and he ends up on Heritage square, and then he visits with the kids.”
According to the Taylor Police Department, security will be the same as in past years. Osborne specified that means “stringent, as it is every year.”
Regardless, Osborne emphasized that now is the time for the city to come together.
“I think it will be a really nice fun evening,” she said. “There are a few that are really wrapped up in the controversy, but I think the majority of people just want to enjoy a parade.”
