Christmas is a time for mistletoe and holly, decorations and presents, and here in Augusta tradition also demands a Christmas parade.
The earliest mention we could dig up about Christmas parades in Augusta was published in the Augusta Chronicle in 1933. The parade was commended for having many beautiful floats created by the community. The prettiest one was judged to be the float entered by the Houghton school. Based on a theme of white snowballs, the float also had a little Christmas queen, Frances Hurt.
In 1940, Santa was enlisted as choir director for the Christmas parade. He was committed to directing the crowd in the singing of “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” The newspaper helpfully published the complete lyrics to the songs so everyone could sing along.
In 1952, the paper reported that the parade would host 8 out-of-town marching bands. The parade was doubling as a band competition and these bands would join all the local bands to compete for a $100.00 first prize.
Mike Greene-Augusta Good News
Augusta hosted parades at least until the early 1950s when the tradition entered a long lull. Mrs. Tillman Casey Jr., might have been the voice of Augusta’s nostalgia for its parades when she wrote in 1961 that she wished the parade would return to give all children the opportunity to see Santa.
There was no more reporting on an Augusta Christmas parade until a newspaper notice in 1972 when the City Council announced that an annual Christmas parade would be held on Thanksgiving Day. However, it appears that the plan never came to fruition because South Augusta announced it would host a Christmas parade on November 30th.
In 1980, the Augusta Jaycees had taken charge of the parade and started their preparations in October with a call for applications for non-professional floats. The parade marched down Augusta’s streets with its non-professional floats on December 14th. As always, Santa was expected to be the climax of the parade.
The 1992 20th Annual Christmas Fantasy Parade had Santa as a headliner but mentioned other guests as well. “Santa Claus is coming to town. And so are the Hooters Girls, the Star Trek Club beauty queens and a retiring congressman.” Doug Barnard, the congressman, was doing duty as the Grand Marshall.
2005 marked the 25th anniversary for firefighter Greg Brooks to don the suit and cap and transform into Santa for the Augusta parade. Brooks loved the role, appearing at many other venues, and doing his part to spread Christmas cheer.
In 2017, Augustans were so eager for the parade they lined up almost an hour early to watch the parade.
2021 marked a change in the traditional route of the parade. In 2020 the holiday procession had been held up by a train and the new route would avoid this problem.
Mike Adams – Augusta Good News
This year Augustans will witness another wonderful Christmas parade. Hopefully people will get their fill of bands, floats, civic groups, and other holiday spectacles, including the ever-loved Santa. People will get a warm glow on December 6th 2025 at 1pm as this year’s parade proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities Augusta. So turn out, cheer and wave, and have a merry time.