Seasonal & Holidays
Concord Christmas Parade Celebrates 69 Years Saturday
The coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic is not stopping the annual capital region tradition — but there are options to watch from home, too.
CONCORD, NH — The coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic is not stopping one of the capital region's fun, holiday traditions — the city's annual Christmas parade, although, there will be some changes compared to prior years.
The Concord Christmas Parade is celebrating its 69th year and the second year being organized by Brian Blackden of Concord. In 2019, it was a great event and featured a lot of surprises. Blackden said there will be "many new changes" and fun stuff planned, too, even though there is a pandemic going on.
"Some annual participants canceled due to COVID-19," he said. "But with that, it brings many new entries from other towns that have canceled (their events)."
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This year's parade is sponsored by the Concord Grange #322 and the Fraternal Order of Eagles #613.
The parade will start at 9:30 a.m. and run from Hazen Drive onto Loudon Road to Canterbury Road and then to Pembroke Road to the Concord Business Center, the same route as last year.
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Social distancing or masks will be required along the route due to the new mandate issued Thursday.
Parade fans who cannot attend but still want to view the event do have some options this year. Concord TV will be filming the parade on Channel 22 and livestreamed on Facebook. It will also be streamed on 101.5 and 104.9 FM and TheGraniteChannel.com — allowing anyone to view the parade and performances without leaving home, Blackden said.
The U.S. Marine Corps color guard followed by Concord Fire and Rescue will lead the parade. Then, there will be two divisions featuring a mix of floats, vehicles, walking entries, and performances. Liberty, the Concord police comfort K-9, is the 2020 grand marshal of the parade. Marchers are coming from as far away as Berlin to attend the event. The Chaos and Kindness/Recycled Percussion monster truck is also confirmed to be there, too, Blackden said.
Donations are still being accepted for the parade, which is now a 501(c)3 charity. Mail checks to 30 Pinewood Trail, Concord, NH 03301.
For more information, visit the parade's Facebook site.
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