ROGERS – Floats, lights and crowds of people will fill downtown Rogers during Friday’s annual Christmas Parade amid uncertainty over the event’s future.

According to Shey Bland, director of Downtown Rogers Inc., the parade is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and run about a mile (1.6 km) through downtown. About 70 organizations – an average number – have registered this year, she said. noted.

The Northwest Arkansas regional dance will perform in the plaza just north of the Christmas tree about 30 minutes before the parade, Bland said. Justin Reed and Dustin Breazeale of Java Dudes will serve as Grand Marshals.

The parade has been a Rogers tradition for decades, Bland said. In 2020, the parade was suspended due to the covid-19 pandemic, but organizations were able to submit videos for a virtual presentation, she said.

It is not known if the tradition will continue beyond this year. City officials, at an annual budget review meeting on Nov. 15, announced they were ending a $ 100,000 event planning contract with Downtown Rogers Inc., a division of Rogers-Lowell Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The money will be reallocated to cultural and arts programming, and the city will continue downtown events such as concerts at Railyard Park, said John McCurdy, director of community development. A private entrepreneur will manage the farmers market, he said.

The city will not fund the Frisco Festival or the Christmas parade in 2022, according to Mayor Greg Hines.

There has been talk of Rogers’ three Rotary clubs hosting the Christmas parade, Bland said.

The Rogers Downtown Rotary Club Board of Directors discussed the possibility of owning the Christmas parade with the help of the other two Rotary clubs in town to run it properly, club secretary said. , Rick McCleod.

“No decision has been made and discussions are very preliminary,” McCleod said.

The Rotary Club of Rogers volunteered to help line up the parade and keep the parade moving and the road clear, club president Jene Huffman-Gilreath said. The club’s board of directors has not met to discuss parade participation since the city made its decision in November, she said.

The Rotary Rogers Early Risers Club is unable to host the parade, but they have helped it in the past and look forward to helping in the future, club president Michelle Fittro said.

In the wings

It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to plan a Christmas parade, according to Bland.

As soon as a one-year event is over, Bland makes a list of notes and starts planning for the next year, she said.

Santa is booked in early spring and guidelines and rules are updated early for attendees, she said. The parade must be marketed to the public and to organizations wishing to participate. Banners need to be made and sponsorships sold, Bland said.

Applications are submitted in October and the lineup needs to be planned out, Bland said. Judges should be organized and a stage and lighting should be set up for the dance performance preceding the parade. Rotary clubs help line up the cars and 14 security elves tape up before the parade and take it down afterwards, she said.

The parade costs around $ 6,000, not including in-kind donations from sponsors, Bland said. Sponsorships and charity fees cover the cost and provide a few thousand more dollars to get started next year, she said. The budget does not include the cost of a paid staff member to organize the event, which would put the parade in the red, she said.

“My budget spreadsheet is what we paid for,” she said. “It’s a whole different thing when you add in-kind support and paid staff. “

Other cities

Bentonville, Springdale and Fayetteville all celebrate the holidays with Christmas parades.

Fayetteville’s Lights of the Ozarks parade, hosted by Experience Fayetteville, takes place the Friday before Thanksgiving, said Hazel Hernandez, the organization’s vice president of marketing. The parade is a 25-year tradition that takes place just before the mayor flips the switch to turn on the downtown Christmas lights, she said.

The Springdale Parade has been hosted by Rodeo of the Ozarks for the past 24 years, according to executive director Rick Culver. The event takes place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, he said. The weather for this year’s event was wonderful and there was a huge turnout, he said.

The Bentonville Christmas Parade is hosted by Downtown Bentonville Inc., according to the organization’s website. It is scheduled for December 11 at 6 p.m. around the downtown square.

Bland is hopeful that the tradition of the Christmas parade continues in Rogers and that the city may even someday host parades for other holidays, she said.

“We just have a great itinerary and great bones to host parades, and they’re a great way to celebrate our community,” she said.