Annual Christmas parade takes over downtown Hopkinsville

The frigid temperatures did not kill the holiday spirit as folks still crowded downtown Hopkinsville for Parks and Recreation’s annual Hopkinsville Electric System Nighttime Christmas Parade and the tree lighting ceremony on Saturday.

The parade included a wide variety of participants, including local companies, school organizations and political candidates. Parks and Recreation Superintendent Toby Hudson says both events were beautiful, and the parade had around 102 participating organizations and 22 parade floats.

The last couple of parades were affected by rain, and Hudson was thankful for a dry night. Despite the freezing temperatures, Hudson says they had a great turnout.

Outgoing Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority President Derrick Watson was the parade’s grand marshal and also flipped the light switch. At the tree lighting ceremony, Watson sang a couple Christmas Carols including “Jingle Bells” before his grandchildren joined him to flip the switch.

Watson is set to retire at the end of the year after serving HWEA for the past 28 years.

The holiday fun continues on Sunday, with Santa Claus visiting Hopkinsville. He’ll be riding around with the Hopkinsville Fire Department from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Folks can visit Parks and Recreation’s Facebook page to track where Santa will be.