It’s time once again for the annual Christmas Parade!

This year’s parade will be held Saturday, November 21, at 1 p.m., and the theme is “Tennessee Country Christmas”. The Grand Marshal for this year will be O.D. Johnson and the Honored Merchants will be Buster Turner of Turner Music and Bernice Tennyson of Hair Etc.

The parade will feature a Motorcycle Memorial Ride at the beginning, so come early and don’t miss it. All motorcycles need to be onsite and lined up by 12:30 p.m.

There will be two divisions of floats — commercial and religious — and the entry fee is $25 per float. The parade will also feature antique cars, with plaques for ten places as well as “best of show”. Antique tractors and horse and wagons (with first and second place trophies) will be featured as well. There will be no four-wheelers, lawnmowers or open headers on antique cars allowed in the 2009 parade; safety concerns were cited as the reason for the decision. Horses and riders are welcome as well, and with the best dressed horse and rider (male, female and child 14 and under) awarded. Beauty pageant winners are welcome to participate in the parade as well.

There is a need for volunteer clowns for the parade, according to Polly Enix, president of the New Tazewell Merchants’ Association, adding that other volunteers are needed to help with the lineup before the parade.

All entries in the parade must register and get a number.

The parade will leave Wal-Mart and Ingles parking lot, go north on Hwy. 33, will exit left at the fourth traffic light and end in the old Claiborne County High School parking lot.

After the parade there will be a board at Enix Jewelry with the winners listed, said Enix, adding that judges need to call the store with the winning entries. It will be up until approximately 3 p.m. Winners will also be listed in the Progress the following week.

In case of rain, the parade will be held Saturday, December 5.

Anyone interested or for more information, should contact Polly Enix at 423-626-4269 or Tammy Myers at 423-489-5509.