The Resource Center to sponsor Jamestown Holiday Parade on Dec. 6

The Resource Center will renew its annual gift to area residents when it sponsors the 2019 Jamestown holiday parade.

The event is scheduled for Friday night, December 30. This marks the 15^th straight year TRC has been the parade’s presenting sponsor.

“The Resource Center is proud to sponsor the Jamestown holiday parade for the 15th straight year,” said Steve Waterson, Community Relations Director. “The parade is a wonderful tradition that is eagerly awaited by many and draws thousands of people downtown to watch and be a part of this magical holiday spectacle. Sponsoring the parade is a way for us to thank the community for all of the support it provides year round to The Resource Center and the people with disabilities we serve. We’re happy to once again partner with the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation to make this special event possible.”

The theme of this year’s parade is “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Floats will begin lining up at 5:00 on the Third Street Bridge. The parade will begin at about 6:30 and continue down Third Street to City Hall. Besides the parade, there will be pre-parade musical entertainment, a traditional tree-lighting ceremony and a fireworks display.

The holiday parade, which is coordinated by the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, has been a long-standing tradition in the city. Area residents, businesses, social organizations, and non-profits come downtown the evening of the parade to celebrate the holidays, attend one of many area holiday events, and support local business. The Resource Center enjoys sponsoring the parade as a way of giving back to the community for its support of TRC.

The Resource Center will have a float in the parade. TRC service recipients, employees, Board members, and families and friends are invited to walk along the parade route with TRC’s float and hand out candy to onlookers. We also plan to have a bus in the parade for people who want to take part in the event but would prefer not to be out in the cold. If interested in being part of TRC’s parade procession, find TRC’s Toys for Tots float on the Third Street bridge between 5:00 and 6:30.

TRC and the Chautauqua Connections Children’s Coalition, which again this year are coordinating the Marine Toys for Tots drive in Chautauqua County, are encouraging area residents to support the effort by bringing toys to the parade. Additional connections have been made this year to make donating a toy at the parade easier than ever. Toys for Tots will have a common drop point near the intersection of Spring Street and Third Street during the parade, and they will collect toys on the Tots for Tots float. The float will be near the front of the parade with TRC, and will be collecting toys as it moves along the parade route. Anyone who donates a toy will receive a coupon for a free medium coffee, courtesy of Tim Hortons. Additional Toys for Tots partners include Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, Lakeshore Paving, Jamestown Police Department, Jamestown Fire Department, and the Jamestown High School Cross Country Team.

For more information about the parade, visit www.jamestownrenaissance.org.

Pictured are, from left, Shawn Shilling from the Jamestown Fire Department; Terri Johnson, TRC; Patty Perlee, President of TRC’s Board of Directors; Patrick Smeraldo, Chautauqua Connections, Inc.; Heather C. Brown, TRC; Corey Moore, Jamestown Police Department; Blake Tarana, Tim Hortons; Selina Phillps, TRC; Victoria Trass Bardo, Filling the Gap, Inc.; Cathy Ensminger, TRC; Kristy Kathman, Jamestown Renaissance Corporation; and Cristin Hockenberry, Jamestown Public Schools.