KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

The dreary weather earlier in the day did not deter the Christmas spirit in Tullahoma as the 67^th annual Tullahoma Christmas Parade, sponsored by Stan McNabb Automotive, rang in the holiday cheer as 120 floats made their way down Jackson Street Friday night.

A change to the routine this year was the announcement from the Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC) earlier in the year at the route was going to be flipped, which meant that the parade began at Tullahoma High School and concluded at South Jackson Performing Arts Center.

Prior to the parade, the chamber also held the Grand Marshal reception, sponsored and hosted by South Jackson Performing Arts Center, the previous evening to celebrate this year’s grand marshal Annie Osborne, who flipped the switch to light the city Christmas tree at the performing arts center.

As the parade got underway, the community gathered and lined Jackson Street to watch 120 registered floats make their way through Tullahoma’s main roadway and celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season in Tullahoma. Executive Director of TACC Hope Nunley said this year they broke their record registered floats, with last year’s parade having 107 floats. 

A couple of the floats received some notable distinctions, as the chamber parade committee judged each float just before the parade. The floats were placed in four categories, CEO/School, Business, Civic Group/Nonprofit and Jingle Award, and both first and second place winners in each category had banners that preceded them during the parade, with a total of eight top floats.

The CEO/School float winners were Jack T. Farrar Elementary in first place, with Bel-Aire Elementary taking second place.  Jack T. Farrar’s Laney Warren won the Christmas parade contest with “Winter Wonderland.”

The Business float winners were the Ascend Federal Credit Union in first place and A-1 Chimney sweepinginto second place. Come To The Table’s float placed first in the Civic category, followed by New Creation Churchin second place.  The Jingle Bell Award was given upon the New Creation Churchfor first place and A-1 Chimneyin second place. The final award, the President’s Award, was bestowed to Water’s Edge Chocolates for their parade float.

TACC Executive Director Hope Nunley shared the chamber of commerce’s thanks and gratitude to everyone who helped make the parade possible and to everyone who the attended the parade this year.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our title sponsor, Stan McNabb Automotive, whose generous support made this record-breaking parade possible,” Nunley said. “A sincere thank you to the dedicated volunteers and committee members who worked tirelessly to create a spectacular event. We appreciate the overwhelming public attendance, making this parade a true regional draw and celebrate the success of over 120 floats that added vibrancy to our community.”

All photos were taken by Anna Coburn and Kyle Murphy.