Aside from a White Christmas or a visit from the Jolly Old Elf himself, what’s better than a parade for stirring the Christmas spirit? This year, Fayetteville’s annual procession has a double measure of celebration, commemorating the holiday season and 25 years of sponsorship by the Fayetteville Rotary Club and Rotary International. The Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade processes through Downtown Fayetteville on Sat. Dec. 14, starting at 10 a.m.
The parade route runs west from the Cumberland County Courthouse on Person Street up Hay Street, around the Market House and ends at the CSX railway station. According to Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade Chairman Brandon K. Price, now in his fourth year, pedestrian spectators are welcome to watch the approximately two-hour parade along this route. He anticipates crowds of 10 to 20,000 viewers—the more, the merrier!
In terms of a twofold celebration, the anniversary takes a second fiddle. After all, Santa says nothing tops Christmas.
Price described what’s to celebrate this year.
“It’s the promise of having an amazing parade with many great entries and things families and especially the kids will enjoy. It's just a special moment. These are exciting times,” he said.
Price repeated what fellow Rotarians said when the club took on the parade in 1999: “We can’t have Christmas without a Christmas parade.”
A holiday tradition, the parade has been a well-loved community service project of the Fayetteville Rotary Club for a quarter of a century. In 1999, the forward-thinking civic club took on the formerly city-sponsored event. Two additional clubs at the time, West Fayetteville Rotary and LaFayette Rotary, stepped up to work with Fayetteville Rotary members. The original parade chair, Fayetteville Rotarian Greg Gunn, did the yeoman’s job that first year. When Gunn moved the next year, members Johnson Chestnutt and Matthew Smith agreed to co-chair the parade, working together until Chestnutt’s passing in 2017. The Rotary Christmas Parade Committee was formed, and Smith continued to lead the endeavor, serving 21 years. The Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade has grown in its 25-year tenure from 50 entries in its inaugural year to 110-120 participants today from the greater Fayetteville area, from across North Carolina and even other states.
“The parade is the largest event we do,” Price said. “It impacts everyone, every social, every economic background. It really hits the heart of Fayetteville. We are the Can-Do City, the All-America city, and you see that in our Christmas parade. It is one of the staple events in our community that brings everyone out. There’s something for everybody in this parade. The Fayetteville Rotary Club partners with many city departments, including the Fayetteville Police Department, the Department of Transportation, Parks and Recreation, Sanitation, and more, to put the parade on.”
Ville City Jeeps, the Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade’s safety partner, provides additional support for the third straight year.
Grand Marshals of this year's parade are Methodist University President Stanley T. Wearden, Ph. D., and Cape Fear Valley Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Samuel A Fleishman, MD. The co-dignitaries will share a float, greeting the crowds with waves, smiles and candy.
Elected officials and political figures from the Cumberland County government will also be present on floats and in the grandstand to show their support and greet the community. Look for additional public staff from Cumberland County EMS, the City of Fayetteville Stormwater and others to join the merrymaking.
An air of pageantry arrives as regional queens, including the 2024 Miss Fayetteville Teen and 2024 Miss Fayetteville, along with several Little Miss Cape Fear Queens, the Jr. Miss Fort Liberty, Jr. Miss All-American NC, Miss Chapel Hill, International United Miss, Miss Southview High School and Miss Cape Fear High School, help usher in Christmas.
Next in step with an oom-pah, crack, clang and boom, marching bands bring the sounds of Christmas and electric excitement. Crowds easily recognize and merrily sing along with the seasonal favorites brought to Historic Downtown Fayetteville by the Majestic Marching Eagles of Bal Perazim Christian Academy, the EE Smith Magnificent Marching Machine, Cape Fear High School Marching Colts, Westover High School Mid-South PowerHouse and among others, the marching bands of Douglas Byrd Senior High School, South View High School and Jack Britt High School.
With music comes dance; in this pairing, the Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade does not disappoint. Enjoy the rhythmic steps of Kerry's Dance Beat, Fatal Attraction Majorette Dance Team, Triton High School Rhythm Steppers Step Team, Royal Diamonds Dance Company, Inspiration Dance Academy, Yvette's Dance Academy and THE FIREHOUSE, Eastover's Studio of Performing Arts. Parade watchers can shake a leg, too!
With business as the lifeblood of the Cape Fear region’s economy, business owners of all kinds fill the parade lineup to thank patrons and extend holiday greetings. Look for entries from A Christmas Wonderland NC, El Burrito Mexican Restaurant, Fayetteville PWC, Mitchells Towing, RE/MAX, LU MIL VINEYARD INC., AAA COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Carolina Comfort Air, Cross Creek Subaru, Mitchell’s Towing and Dorothy's Catering 2, for starters.
While business is the lifeblood, goodwill is the heartbeat. Charitable organizations, service organizations, veteran and civic groups, youth entities, churches, and schools surge the parade ranks. American Heritage Girls and Trail Life Troops, Boy Scouts, Sandhills Community Chaplain Corps, the Fayetteville Child Advocacy Center and Nu Gamma Psi Fraternity are among this long list of parade participants, too many to name but each one vital to the health of the Cape Fear community.
Off the field, mat and track and onto the parade lineup, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, New Life Christian Academy Cheerleaders, The Little Gym of Fayetteville and Beaman Motorsports are among the sports outfits showing their Yuletide spirit in the 2024 parade.
Sudan Cruisers, more than 30 “slingshots,” i.e., three-wheel automobiles, several cars from car clubs around the state, costumed characters of all sorts and media outlets, including Beasley Media Group, Cumulus Broadcasting, HIS Radio 90.1, ABC 11, which is streaming the parade live, and more round out the who’s who in the Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade. Finally, all the rain-or-shine parade needs is you and yours to make it a success!
Though parade entry applications close on Dec. 7, citizens should stay tuned to www.rotarychristmasparade.com for parade information and updates and to volunteer.

(The Fayetteville Christmas Parade has been put on by the Rotary for 25 years. Photos courtesy of the Fayetteville Rotary)