Dec. 3—The Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade and the Community Christmas Tree Lighting at Norris Park kicked off Friday evening with over 97 entries.
Riding in floats were community members and employees of local businesses, which included the Bravado Wireless, Bank of Cherokee County, Century 21 Wright Real Estate, Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, Tahlequah Fire Department, Echota Behavior Health Center, Grand River Dam Authority, NSU Cheer, Riverhawk Nutrition, Tahlequah Sports League, Tahlequah Police Department, Grand Marshal, Okie Jeep Squad, and AAA Insurance Robbins Agency.
Rebecca Owen, operations and events manager for TACC, said this event takes a lot of time to prepare and plan.
"We started meeting as a committee two months ago, but luckily, I had some extremely talented people in the committee that made planning and executing as simple as possible," she said.
She this was her first parade to plan and work, and she said most of the entries were businesses, nonprofits, and churches.
"I really just gauged success on three things: starting somewhat promptly, volunteers having a smooth time putting entries in line, and smiles throughout," she said.
The TACC selected Tahlequah Police Sgt. Lane Cobb to serve as grand marshal.
"It was an honor being selected to be the grand marshal in the parade. My family and I are very thankful for the opportunity, and I'm thankful my family got to experience this Christmas parade this year in a unique way," he said.
Owens was most excited to see the floats sporting the Grinch.
"Unfortunately, I was running around during the parade and missed a lot of the floats, but I'm partial to the Grinch, so anything with him was a favorite of mine," she said.
Laura Martin is an area mom who brought her 6-year-old niece, Paxtyn, out for her first parade.
"This is her first Christmas parade and we surprised her," Martin said. "Both of my sons graduated from Tahlequah High School, so I was with them for every parade through [their sports]."
Martin said this was the first Tahlequah Christmas parade she's been to since 2018.
"It's a lot bigger than what it was when we came before," she said.
Tahlequah Ward 3 City Councilor Stephen Highers and TACC member Jami Murphy were co-emcees for the event. Murphy said the parade always starts off a big weekend for Tahlequah.
"The cooperative efforts with the Cherokee Nation, which held its lighting at the Square, and the Tahlequah Main Street Association Tree Lighting at Norris Park, make for an eventful night in Tahlequah," she said.