The climax of the Merry Meridian festivities will be the annual Meridian Christmas Parade on Saturday,
December 6. The parade will get underway at 5:00 p.m. and make its way through the center of downtown along 8th street, 23rd
and 22nd avenues.
“It’s shaping up to another terrific year for the parade,” said Jeremy Campbell,
this year’s Christmas parade chairman. “We will have over 150 entries. Expect to see marching bands, dance troupes,
beauties, extravagant cars and much more. The Meridian Christmas Parade is considered the largest nighttime Christmas
parade in Mississippi. “Most of the floats will be lighted, which always provides a beautiful scene as they make their
way down the street,” said Jeremy. “It is always fun to see how elaborate they get with their designs.”
The theme for this year’s parade is “An Old Fashion Christmas”. Judges will positioned at Dumont Plaza
and winners will be selected for the best use of the theme.
Campbell also stated that this year’s parade will
feature marching bands from Meridian High School, Northeast High School, West Lauderdale High School and Clarkdale High School.
“We will also have about 8 to 10 food vendors in Dumont Plaza selling hot chocolate, gumbo, chicken-on-a-stick and much
more.”
Walt Grayson has been selected to be the Grandmaster of the 2008 Meridian Christmas Parade.
Campbell said that the parade will not be televised this year so more people will be drawn downtown. “Downtown events
that unite both public and private entities are the lifeblood of our continuing efforts to revitalize this area of Meridian,
and the Christmas parade is no exception,” said Campbell. “We look to have many visitors from outside the Meridian
area, and the Christmas parade is a chance for this community to showcase some of the best things we have to offer.
