REGION — It's not the Grinch who stole Christmas in Anderson and Kokomo this year. COVID-19 is to blame for the cancellation of Christmas parades in both cities.
Mayor Tyler Moore announced the cancellation of Kokomo's Old Fashioned Christmas Parade, which was to have taken place this Saturday, on recommendation of the Howard County Health Department.
“The community’s enthusiasm for the Christmas parade demonstrated just how anxiously people are wanting to participate in traditional American get-togethers,” said Moore. “Unfortunately, the parade was scheduled to occur during a period when we are experiencing an uptick in COVID cases. The decision was made to protect the overall health and safety of the community.”
For the same reasons, Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. said there would be no parade or downtown ice rink this year.
“While we are disappointed about having to scale back our Christmas activities this year, it is paramount that we continue to be pro-active in protecting our citizens and our city workers,” Broderick, Jr. said. “Our ice rink has been very popular, since its inception; bringing in as many as 8000 visitors a year, but obviously that is simply something we cannot do this year."
As Broderick noted, Madison County's COVID rate is not getting any better, according to the county health department.
“We have done extensive decorating downtown and we are actively supporting safe alternatives that utilize safe social distancing practices. We are again a primary sponsor of the Madison Park Celebrate the Light Experience, where a great display of lights can be viewed safely of a car. We are also a primary sponsor of the annual Cops and Kids event where Christmas gifts are provided by the Fraternal Order of Police," said the mayor.
