About this Event
Fairmont (WV) Christmas Parade and Blessing of the First Responders 2024
Celebrate the Christmas season in Fairmont, West Virginia, by entering (for free) our annual city Christmas parade. Entry is free - we're just happy you're participating. Entries can be walkers, cars/vans/trucks, motorcycles, floats, first responder vehicles, ATVs, tow trucks, and even cement trucks sometimes. If you can walk it or drive it, decorate it and come join our celebration and have fun!
Floats and large entries start line up at 3:00, and the main parade lines up starting at 3:30 p.m. We line up from the bottom of Everest Drive/Kirk Way. Our parade is held in coordination with the Hometown Holidays/Feast of the Seven Fishes (sponsored by Main Street Fairmont), so we anticipate great crowds for both events! Like and watch our Facebook page (@FairmontChristmasParade) for the lineup, parade route, traffic, and other parade information. We are a "rain or shine" event with no alternate date, so we would only cancel this event due to serious safety issues.
The Fairmont Christmas Parade and Blessing of the First Responders, sponsored by the Marion County Veterans Council, is a family-oriented public activity designed to celebrate the Christmas season, to honor our first responders, and to promote a positive atmosphere appealing to a general audience of Marion County residents and visitors to our city and county. The Marion County Veterans Council also sponsors the Fairmont Veterans Day Parade.
ENTRIES:
In General
If you are including music, animals, or other aspects in your parade entry that might impact where we place you in the lineup, please make sure to let us know in your registration form so we can give you and the spectators the best experience possible.
Santa and Mrs. Claus in Your Parade Entry
Santa (and Mrs. Claus if she has free time between cookie batches) will be in the Fairmont Fire Department’s Ladder 47 truck, so no live, costumed imposters, please!
Group Entries
If you are registering as a group, please make sure your group only gets registered once. Also, please be sure to let your group participants know the title of your entry and, when available, your group's lineup time to assist them in checking in to the parade.
Some groups who have multiple vehicles should enter separately but indicate that they want placed together with other entries from their group. (Example: 304 Jeepers should register each vehicle separately with an entry name such as "304 Jeepers - Vehicle Nickname or Owner's Name [something specific so we know your group affiliation but can identify your specific entry from others in your group] (See also "Should I Register Multiple Vehicle Entries Separately?" under the FAQS section. When in doubt, text or call Marci at (304) 612-5151 to ask.)
Transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event
Please monitor our Facebook page for the lineup, traffic, and other parade information. Parking is not available at the top, bottom, or in the parade lineup for vehicles not actually in the parade. Also, there is no parking in the Marion County Rescue Squad lot.
Option 1: We heavily encourage riding in/on the parade vehicle if you can safely do so. If your parade participants can't do this, we suggest ride sharing (a/k/a carpooling) to minimize traffic congestion in the parade lineup and using one of the other options below.
Option 2: Participants may have a vehicle come through the bottom of the parade lineup and drive through the lineup to quickly drop the participant(s) off at their entry’s assigned spot, but those drop-off vehicles may not linger in the lineup. These vehicles must continue uphill and exit the parade line up by turning right or left onto the next cross street. There will be absolutely no downhill traffic.
Option 3: A vehicle may quickly drop off the participant(s) at the Virginia Avenue/4th Street intersection and proceed along Virginia Avenue without entering the parade lineup. The participant(s) will then walk up or downhill in the parade lineup to their entry spot.
Option 4: Otherwise, you will need to park elsewhere and walk into the parade lineup.
Parents who are dropping off children should like and monitor our social networking feeds for information about drop-off and pickup locations close to the parade date. We strongly encourage parents of child participants to make advance arrangements on where to meet their child(ren) following the parade. We love your children and want to make sure they stay safe!
What is the Blessing of the First Responders and how does it affect our entry?
This event will not affect non-first responder entries. The Blessing is to honor and thank all of our first responders for their service to and sacrifice for our communities and to pray for their safety in the coming year. Almost all of the first responder vehicles participating in this event are found at the end of the parade line, and this event is rather popular with these folks. These entries simply pause for a few seconds in front of the Marion County courthouse, and one or more of our clergy team walks out to the street and lays hands on the vehicle entry to offer a brief verbal blessing for safety of the organization's vehicle and personnel. It is a truly small ask for their profound service to our communities.
The Blessing of the First Responders has been embedded in the Fairmont Christmas Parade since 2014 and occurs in front of the Marion County Courthouse. The Blessing was originally hosted by Marion County Homeland Security & Emergency Management and chiefly organized by Sabrina Haught until her retirement. Prior parade sponsor Fairmont Lions Club took over this event organization in 2019, and the Marion County Veterans Council is pleased to continue this tradition.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Parade Route Start, Fairmont Avenue and 4th Street, Fairmont, United States
USD 0.00
