If you enjoyed Habersham County’s nighttime Christmas parade this year, you’re not alone.
After rescheduling the parade because of inclement weather, parade organizers asked participants to add lights to their floats because the parade changed from morning to night. “I was so incredibly impressed with what everyone could do to illuminate their floats in just three short days,” says Community Development Manager Jessie Owensby. “The entries did a fantastic job!”
Owensby says the parade was such a success, she plans to continue the “night” theme and keep it on a weeknight the next time Cornelia hosts it (different cities in Habersham host the parade each year). “That really seemed to work for everyone, and we received a ton of positive feedback,” she says.
READ Cornelia hosts Habersham County Christmas Parade
And the winners are…
Thursday the City of Cornelia released the names of this year’s parade winners. The floats were judged on several criteria including effort, theme, Christmas spirit, creativity, and how memorable they were.
Owensby says there were so many great floats that it was hard to pick the winners. It was so hard, in fact, that the judges added three honorable mentions. “We have more of a top six than a top three,” she says.
WATCH 2018 Habersham County Christmas Parade
Here are the winners, along with the judges’ explanations for choosing them.
First Place: Habersham County Sherriff’s Office
“Not only did this float represent Christmas and the Bicentennial birthday, it took months to plan and develop. It included original paintings of landmarks throughout the county, a portrait of Joseph Habersham, and a beautiful Christmas tree. The float had to be assembled and taken apart on-site! They also had a large group riding with the float and completely represented everything about the Christmas/Bicentennial theme.”
Second Place: Girl Scout Troop 11208
“These girls had a “Polar Express” train, which goes along with the Cornelia theme (we have a thing about trains), and the train expelled real steam like a steam engine. It was all lit up and full of girls. They also had a huge group. It was very creative and looked like it took some thinking and planning to pull off.”
Third Place: City of Cornelia
“This float was a huge birthday cake that was almost six feet tall! It may have been a birthday cake (bicentennial), but it was decorated with Christmas garland, lights, and ornaments. It was able to hold almost 15 people in the back. It was definitely the grandest gesture on the playing field. But wait, there’s more. They didn’t build just one, but two floats! They were the first float AND the last. They also designed and decorated the Ace Hardware float that Santa rode on to bring up the parade caboose.”
Honorable Mention: Ground Level Site Services
“The lit up redneck lawn mower towing all the gifts was cute. It was very cute. We wish there had been more entries like this. It was very “Cornelia!”
Honorable Mention: York’s Garage
“It was a clever play on everyone’s favorite Christmas movie, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” The wood-grain station wagon with the tree on top and the kids hanging out the back was classic. They even included a great description centered on the movie. It said, “The Griswolds were on their way to Habersham’s bicentennial birthday parade and needed a tune up, so they stopped by the one and only York’s Garage because they knew they were going to get the best service in town. ‘Later Dudes! Let er rip! Hang ten!’”
Honorable Mention: First Baptist Church Cornelia
“It was a birthday cake that read, “Happy Birthday Jesus and Habersham” and looked like it took some work to put together. However, the thing that put them over the top and earned the mention was the fact that Senior Pastor Eric Spivey took it up a notch when he donned his ugly Christmas sweater, Christmas light necklace, and inline skates and skated through the entire parade. He’s got the Cindy Lou Who spirit if we’ve ever seen it!”
