Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Chamber Plans Christmas Parade, Events For Dec. 7

Christmas in Nevada County will be a busy time for all.

Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, said the holiday fun will kick off Thursday, Dec. 7, with the Fourth Annual Christmas Parade.

Registration and line-up for the parade will be 3:30 p.m., with all entries to be in line by 4:45 p.m. The judging of the floats will be done at 5 o'clock, with the parade taking place at 6 p.m.

This year's parade theme will be "A Cozy Christmas Eve".

There will be six divisions for people to enter. First will be floats, nine feet and up, with the top five finishers taking home some cold hard cash.

In fact, the winner of the float division will receive $125, with second place taking $100. The third place finisher will earn $75, while fourth gets $50 and fifth takes home $25.

The mini-float division, for those eight feet and shorter, there is only one place, and the winner receives $50.

There will also be but one winner in the decorated cars and trucks class, and they get $10.

The best decorated bicycle will earn $10, as will the best decorated golf cart or all-terrain vehicle.

And, the best dressed animal will also be presented $10.

The parade will line up at the First United Methodist Church, head down highway 67 south, turn left on East Elm, and finish at the courthouse.

Winners of the different float divisions will be named at Christmas on the Square, which follows the parade.

Those planning to enter a float in the parade must do so by Dec. 1. Entry forms are available at the Chamber office.

The Christmas binge continues at the courthouse with Christmas on the Square getting underway.

There will be plenty of entertainment and refreshments available. Youngsters can visit with Santa to let him know what they want, and the event will end with the snowball avalanche. The avalanche of ping pong balls will occur twice, as there are two categories. Once for children, and again for the larger children called adults.

The ping pong balls will have discounts written on them from local merchants.

Along with all this fun, the winners of the Parade of Homes and Best Decorated Window Contest will be announced.

The window contest is open to any retail merchant or business, and there is no entry fee. The idea is to promote the holiday season for the area.

Windows will be judged on originality, creativity, merchandising and overall beauty.

Deadline for entering is Dec. 5, with judging to take place Dec. 6.

The winning business gets its name engraved on a traveling plaque to be displayed for a year in the business.

To enter, call the Chamber at 887-2101.

The parade of homes contest is open to all residents in the city and county, with judging to be done on homes inside the city limits, and again for those in the county.

Deadline for entering is Dec. 5, with judging to take place the evening of Dec. 5. Winners will be announced at Christmas on the Square Dec. 7.

Displays should be lighted and ready for judging by 5:30 p.m., Dec. 5, with the lights left on until 10:30 p.m. for the judges.

All entries will be judged based on originality, creativity and presentation, with the winning entries also selected based on the appearance of the exterior of their home and yard.

Winning entries will have signs displayed in their yards throughout the month of December, and will receive a certificate of award.

There is no entry fee for this contest.

The criteria for the contest includes the best lighted display, consisting primarily of lights.

Next is the best unlighted display, based on decorations as the centerpiece of the entry, using as few lights as possible.

The best theme will be picked based on all decorations being tied to a central theme.