Emporia rings in Christmas with 46th annual parade

EMPORIA (KSNT) — On Tuesday, Dec. 3, Emporia was full of Christmas magic as the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce held the 46th annual Community Christmas Parade.

The Christmas dedication ceremony was first held in front of the Trusler Business Center. It is a time for the community to come together to celebrate and kick off the holiday season. To continue the holiday spirit, the parade took off shortly after. This year's theme was "A Storybook Christmas".

The parade traveled down Commercial Street from East 4th Avenue to East 12th Avenue. Around 90 floats took a trip down the street for the community to enjoy. Many local schools, businesses and bands were included.

The Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce added a new element this year to ensure everyone had the opportunity to get into the holiday spirit. KSNT 27 News spoke to Jeanine Mckenna, the Chamber's President and CEO, about this new element.

"The sensory block will be the very first block of the parade," Mckenna said. "We have asked all the floats to not honk horns, blow sirens, have flashing lights. Just make those loud noises that sometimes can be overstimulating for some people."

The parade took off around 7 p.m. Tuesday evening to kick off the holiday season with joy, community spirit, and the magic of a storybook Christmas.

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