Parade could move to April

Published 2:13 pm Thursday, December 28, 2017

Organizers of the Cumberland County Christmas Parade, which was cancelled earlier this month, may instead hold a parade in April to coincide with Patriot Day, Parade Organizer Barbara Gamage said Tuesday.

“The plan now is to invite those who would have participated to a parade on Patriot Day,” Gamage said, noting that the potential parade would depend on whether a committee could form to plan out the parade for that day.

The parade, originally slated for Dec. 10, was cancelled due to Snowstorm Benji and was unable to be rescheduled.

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“We need the help of the citizens of Cumberland County,” Gamage said in an email.

She noted that those who are interested in taking part in Patriot Day could contact Organizer and Board of Supervisors Chairman Kevin Ingle at (804) 517-0987 or Gamage at barbaragamage@gmail.com.

Ingle said in a phone interview Wednesday that a discussion with county administration concerning the parade may take place after the holiday season.

Patriot Day, an annual celebration held in Cumberland County, was created to remember the first call for American independence, which, according to a Facebook page for a previous Patriot Day event, took place April 22, 1776 when “Mr. Carter Henry Harrison, from the porch of Effingham Tavern at Cumberland Court House did instruct elected delegates of this county to vote for independence from the British government at the Virginia Convention of May 6, 1776.”