Sunday, December 03, 2006 was the 15th annual Prince Frederick Christmas Parade. I caught up with Barbara Stinnett, parade organizer for the Optimist Clubs of Calvert County, who explained that the parade was the brain child of the Optimists and the Calvert County Fair Board. For the past ten years it has been held at Fox Run shopping center in Prince Frederick.
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| Shown in this picture taken on Unlimited Productions’ mobile stage are Tommy Houck, Paul Grace, Ricky Riston, Sabrina Stinnett, Kenny Stinnett, Barbara Stinnett, Vicky Stinnett, and little Kody Stinnett. The Bay Net Photo by Tom Latchaw |
The Parade’s purpose is to welcome Santa to Southern Maryland and kick off the Christmas shopping season. She praised the business community in Fox Run for their patience in this yearly practice, which essentially shuts down their businesses for most of one day. She also wanted to thank Santa’s special helper, Mr. John Brady. Brady has been Santa’s representative for many years and has a real rapport with children.
Stinnett also had much praise for Mr. Paul Grace and Unlimited Productions for their yearly effort providing a stage and amplification for the grandstand as well as the pre-parade music. Coverage of the parade will be on Comcast channel 6 from December 9th through 25th this year.
Parade participants included the Calvert High School marching band, and the marching musicians of the middle schools that feed into Calvert High as well. Also marching were the Calvert High Navy Junior ROTC, scout groups, soccer and baseball teams, 4H clubs, and fire engines from Huntingtown and Prince Frederick, and of course no holiday parade would be complete without a visit from Santa Claus. Since this is Southern Maryland, his sleigh was towed by a classic farm tractor instead of eight tiny reindeer.