No Hometown HoliDazzle parade this year; Main Street Wilmington to host Winter Market

0

Even though there will be no Hometown Holidazzle Parade in 2020, there will still be festivities in Downtown Wilmington to enjoy.

WILMINGTON —There will be no HoliDazzle parade in 2020.

“After our board talked it through, there were just too many questions we couldn’t answer,” explained Myron Hale, Main Street Wilmington Board Chair. “There is still a state mandate in effect that says no parades. No matter how we tried to re-configure the parade and the crowd, there was just no way to do it.”

The Hometown HolidDazzle Parade is a long-standing downtown tradition organized by Main Street Wilmington with sponsorship and support from many local businesses and the city. Scheduled for Nov. 21, the parade is one of the many event causalities of Covid-19.

“We hate to disappoint the community, but it’s beyond our control this year. Keeping residents safe has to be top priority especially as families begin to gather for the holidays,” said Darcy Reynolds, Main Street Wilmington Director. “The nature of a parade is to huddle together and watch. We just didn’t feel comfortable in assembling float participants and then encourage all the spectators, knowing that distancing would be next to impossible.”

However, Main Street is hosting a Winter Market noon-6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21 to support retail downtown.

“Our intention is to offer a fun retail experience that supports our businesses while adding a few pop-up shops to the mix,” said Reynolds. “There are some great artists coming to town for the day, scattered all around the downtown. We are trying to utilize some vacant storefronts as temporary locations where people can shop safely with no long lines or crowds.

“The Market will also allow people to visit the great properties currently available for lease.”

Market details, map and participating stores and artists will be published by Oct. 28 so residents can plan a day of holiday shopping which includes additional downtown destinations.

Also on the calendar is the annual window decorating contest — if there was ever a year for decorations and cheer, it’s 2020! Details and deadlines will be available on the Main Street Facebook page.

Please be assured the tradition of HoliDazzle returns on Nov. 20, 2021 — so mark your calendars now.

https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/10/web1_holi-4.jpg

The HoliDazzle parade traditionally lights up Wilmington, as well as attendees, every holiday season.
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/10/web1_holi-2.jpgThe HoliDazzle parade traditionally lights up Wilmington, as well as attendees, every holiday season. Submitted photo

https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/10/web1_Main-St-Wilmington.jpgSubmitted photo

Submitted article

No posts to display