KANNAPOLIS — Ethel Peacock remembers coming to the Kannapolis Christmas Parade when the weather cooperated.
She used to walk over from her house on D Street with her husband and daughter and recalls that, some years, “It was so cold you couldn’t stand it.”
Not Tuesday. The temperature at the 4 p.m. start time hovered right around a balmy 70 degrees.
But while the weather may have said Memorial Day, the spirit around downtown cast a solid vote for Christmas.
“You have as much fun as you let yourself,” said Peacock, a 68-year-old great-grandmother from Enochville who clapped and waved throughout the parade. “That’s what you’re supposed to do.”
The annual marching, musical, magical convoy signaling entry into the holiday season actually began well before the first float rolled by on Main Street.
Serious spectators lined the parade route early, staking out their own little piece of real estate for folding chairs or backing up their pickups in parking lots and tailgating.
Munching on caramel apples and cotton candy, they waited as a flood of last-minute parade-goers swooped in for the few remaining nearby parking spots and children tugged adults streetside.
The youngsters excitedly pointed south on Main Street at the first beep and blare of sirens and dazzle of flashing lights as the first cars drew near, representing the Kannapolis Police and Fire Departments.
Sheriffs Brad Riley of Cabarrus County and George Wilhelm of Rowan County followed closely, trailed by an honor guard and parade grand marshals Police Chief Paul Brown and Fire Chief Larry Phillips, riding in a red Humvee.
The law enforcement and emergency services officials won big applause, as did the N.C. National Guard and anybody carrying an American flag, many of them paying tribute to the casualties of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Peacock said it was especially poignant to her. Her daughter is an emergency medical technician with Rowan Rescue Squad, her son-in-law, a Rowan County Sheriff’s deputy.
“They have been special to me, because being a family member I already knew a lot of that stuff that Sept. 11 held,” she said. “They go through some trying times.”
Smaller parade watchers loved the big red firetrucks and shiny emergency vehicles for different reasons.
One little girl elbowed her grandmother in the knee and pointed and another ran in circles at the sight of the parade’s offerings. Children snapped poppers on the pavement and scattered for candy thrown from floats.
They eagerly eyed the vendors’ pushcarts laden with goodies and souvenirs like inflatable candy canes, Grinches and the always present bug-eyed green alien in a Santa suit.
They waved back at a plethora of beauty queens who rode by in their convertible chariots and marveled at the precision of marching bands and dance troupes.
And they squealed with joy as the main man, Old St. Nick himself, ended the parade and sent adults tugging at their children and heading for their cars.
Judges named Christina Shue of South Rowan High School Miss Merry Christmas 2002 and selected the following winners in the entry competitions:
- Church floats: Kannapolis Church of God, first place; Roberta Baptist Church, second place.
- School floats: Northwest Cabarrus High School VICA Club, first place; Northwest Cabarrus High School Special Olympics, second place.
- Civic floats: Pirates Football team, first place; Cub Scout Pack 254, second place.
- Band: Northwest Cabarrus High School, first place; A.L. Brown High School, second place.
- Equestrian: Kayla Dennis, first place; the Pony Cart, second place.
Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com
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