TUPELO – A hallmark of the holiday season in Northeast Mississippi, the area’s largest and most attended Christmas parade returns tonight for its 76th year.
The 76th annual Reed’s Tupelo Christmas Parade returns to downtown tonight from 6 p.m. The parade starts at Front Street on the east side and moves west.
Each year’s parade has a different holiday motif; This year’s theme is ‘Christmas dreams come true’.
The parade is the largest annual event organized by the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association (DTMSA) and the largest Christmas parade in Northeast Mississippi.
Information from the Community Development Foundation shows that more than 20,000 people attended the event last year, based on cell phone numbers. With all those people, traffic is bound to get backed up; Organizers are asking parade goers and people downtown to be patient.
Each year, the DTMSA and Reed’s honor an individual, company or organization by naming them Grand Marshal of the parade. This year the Regional Rehabilitation Center will fulfill this role.
“It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate great people and organizations,” Jack Reed Jr. said. to the Daily Journal in November. “There is nothing better than the Regional Rehabilitation Center, and we are pleased to be able to shine a spotlight on them.”
