By James Coulter
Autumn is upon us. You know what that means? More than three more months of Christmas shopping left. And that also means the annual Christmas parade is right around the corner.
At their workshop on Wed. Sept. 11, Lake Wales city commissioners reviewed a special event permit application for the annual Christmas parade.
The application, submitted by Rotary on the Ridge, is requesting the “temporary closing of several streets” during the parade, which is scheduled for Sat. Dec. 14, 2024, between 6 PM and 8 PM. The lineup for the parade will begin at 3:30 PM at Polk Avenue Elementary School.
According to the agenda memo item, the proposed route “will begin on S First Street, travel up to Central Avenue, Central Ave to Lakeshore Blvd. north to Orange Ave Avenue where it will end on 5th Street.”
As such, the application is requesting that the streets of the parade route (and those adjacent to it) be closed temporarily between the time of 6 PM to 8 PM.
The following streets have been requested to be closed during the parade:
• S 1st Street, from E. Polk Avenue to Central Avenue;
• Central Avenue from 1st Street to Lakeshore Blvd.
• Lake Shore Blvd. from Central Avenue
• to Park Avenue
• Lake Shore Blvd Central Ave to Orange Ave.
• 5th/Orange to Sessoms Ave.
• 5th Street at Sessoms Ave.
As the memo states, city staff had reviewed the application and found “no issues with the event or road closings.”
As for the overall fiscal impact, the memo states that “the total cost of in-kind services is in the proposed budget for FY24/25 is $2949 with the Rotary on the Ridge being responsible for 25% of the total cost or approximately $737.”
Rotary on the Ridge will be responsible for the parade lineup, along with any “staging and any sanitary facilities.” Meanwhile, the police department will be responsible for handling pedestrian and vehicular traffic, while the streets department will handle street closings and trash cleanup.
For more information about the upcoming parade, visit the Rotary on the Ridge Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/RotaryontheRidge
