Newtown’s holiday parade is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 6, at 12:30 p.m., with a new route, a “Storybook Holiday Magic” theme and the event’s first Sensory-Inclusive Quiet Zone.
The Newtown Business Association and presenting sponsor the Newtown Athletic Club expect about 1,800 participants and thousands of spectators, according to Patch. Marching bands, festive floats, holiday characters and expanded downtown entertainment are on the bill.
A Route Built For More Room
Patch describes the parade stepping off on Washington Avenue on the east side of Newtown Borough, near the cemetery. It then marches west to Sycamore Street and north on Sycamore to Durham Road.
That path grew out of a space problem. In June, the association said the march had outgrown the Stocking Works parking lot on South State Street, its traditional starting point. Patch reported that the previous year’s parade had to be split into two parts, and that one section came down from the high school, turned at Sycamore Street and missed the borough entirely.
The June proposal would have formed the parade at the Newtown Business Commons, gone west on Washington Avenue, then north on Sycamore Street to Goodnoe Corner. Organizers said the commons would give them more room to manage the lineup and avoid multiple start times. The route now described for Dec. 6 keeps the west-then-north idea and ends at Durham Road.
Organizers have said the updated route provides additional viewing space and a larger pre-parade staging area, Patch reported. They are also encouraging visitors to arrive early and spend time at downtown businesses before and after the parade.
The First Quiet Zone
The new Sensory-Inclusive Quiet Zone will sit near the start of the route on Washington Avenue. Holy Family University is its founding sponsor. NBA Event Coordinator Shighla Jackson conceived it to give people with sensory sensitivities a more comfortable place to watch.
The supplied reporting does not spell out the zone’s exact boundaries or sound rules. A nearby precedent shows why organizers bother. The Marple Newtown Fourth of July parade committee voted unanimously to create a quiet zone after a community member said his grandson could not enjoy the parade because of loud noises, WHYY reported.
That zone covered about a tenth of a mile. As the parade passed, loud sirens and jolting noises were left out. Some families with young children said they came specifically because the quiet zone was advertised. Other attendees were glad the sirens were gone and still missed the band music. One put it plainly: “We miss the music. The lack of sirens is fine.”
Santa’s Village And The Theme
Santa’s Village is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fred Beans parking lot on Sycamore Street, so families can get there before the 12:30 p.m. step-off and stay after the march. Live reindeer, hot cocoa stations and family-friendly activities are planned.
The theme, “Storybook Holiday Magic,” is the packaging for bands, floats, holiday characters and the extra entertainment downtown. Parade preparations are being led by co-chairs Dave Marcolla, the NBA president, and Christa Kusler, an NBA board member, with help from local businesses, sponsors and volunteers.
A Tradition Since 2005
“The NBA Holiday Parade is one of Newtown’s most cherished traditions, dating back to 2005,” Dana Slipp said, according to Patch. Two decades in, the practical question is less whether the parade returns than whether a larger lineup can start in one place and still pass through town.
The association is directing visitors to NewtownBA.org and its social media for parade updates. Turnout, and whether Dec. 6 unfolds exactly as scheduled, will not be known until the day itself.
