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The date’s been set and now we also know what the themes will be for this year’s Cumberland Christmas Parade. A year after bad weather caused the event to be canceled, the parade will return on Sunday, Dec. 8, starting at 2 p.m. 

For more than 20 years, a group of Cumberland County residents have gathered together and helped assemble the Christmas parade. This year’s edition follows a similar recipe to the past. There will be floats, plenty of music from the Cumberland High Marching Band and kids are guaranteed a glimpse of Santa at the end. There will be no fees for churches who want to sign up and take part. The same goes for school groups, fire and rescue organizations or any type of civic group.

Also, anyone who paid a fee for their group last year and didn’t have it refunded will not be charged again. This, parade organizers say, mostly applies to antique vehicles, trucks and beauty pageant winners. There are two options for people to choose from this year, when it comes to a theme for their float or vehicle. You can either design something focused on Cumberland 1776 – First Call for Independence or Cumberland 2024 – Cumberland Christmas Spirit. That last one is about defining what Christmas Spirit means to you. 

In terms of where it’ll be, this year’s parade plans to start at NAPA at 1587 Anderson Highway and take its normal route, heading down U.S. 60 towards C&F Bank. For those who want to be part and haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time. Applications are available at NAPA on Anderson Highway or you can go to the Cumberland County website and download one there.