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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Saturday night, Dec. 11, was a monumental night for citizens of Pelham as they gathered up and down the streets to watch the first ever Pelham Hometown Christmas Parade.

Residents of Pelham smiled and cheered as the long line of floats coasted down the street. Despite a little rain earlier in the day, the parade went on smoothly, marking a huge feat for the city of Pelham. Children cheered and smiled as the bright lights twinkled on the various floats. The Pelham High School Marching Band performed for the duration of the two mile parade, enthralling attendees with their rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

Representatives of Pelham businesses waved and smiled as some tossed candy to the crowd. After the parade, families raced inside the Pelham Civic Center and Ice Arena to enjoy two hours of skating and time with Santa.

The parade was the brainchild of Pelham’s Chad Leverett and Rick Wash, who wanted to create something special to bring the community together after COVID-19. Leverett said he was overcome with emotion seeing the parade come to fruition.

“It was very overwhelming,” he said. “I’m not an emotional guy, but when we got to seeing Chick-fil-A on the parade route seeing thousands after thousands of people, I got a little emotional. I called my wife Melissa and said, ‘Do you see this? This is amazing.’ Then I told her, ‘I [have to] let you go or I’m going to bawl.’”

Leverett estimates conservatively 7,000 were in attendance along the route, and possibly another 3,000 at the Civic Complex for ice skating, each one of them smiling. Leverett describes the parade as “something very special for our city.”

“After the parade, Rick Wash and I gave each other big hugs and just said, ‘We did it!’” he said. “It was truly amazing. All the city leaders were all smiles as well as the residents. It was just great for the city.”

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