Danville Christmas Parade- CANCELLED!

DANVILLE, Ky. - Due to forecasted heavy rain on Friday night, the Heart of Danville Board of Directors and Danville City Officials have decided to cancel the Danville Christmas Parade that was scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5.

The Mayor's Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony will still take place at 6 p.m. on Friday in Weisiger Park. After the ceremony, there will be a reception at the Community Arts Center, featuring a performance by the Danville Children's Choir, as well as a guest appearance from Santa Claus. The Danville Fire Department will also host a free chili supper that evening, prior to and after the tree lighting ceremony. The chili supper is free, but monetary or unwrapped toy donations for the Annual Toy Drive are appreciated.

Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center will offer milk, cookies, and pictures with Santa Claus, 8-9 p.m., Friday, at the base of the grand staircase outside the hospital gift shop.

The Boyle County Republican Party will hold an open house at 209 W. Main Street, following the Christmas tree lighting.

"We would like to thank everyone who volunteered to participate in this year's parade, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused," said Heart of Danville Events Coordinator Missy Angolia. "We hope everyone understands this decision was not made lightly. Many parade entrants, such as the marching bands and antique cars, are not able to participate if the weather is bad, and we do not want small children and animals out in the expected heavy rains. Due to scheduling conflicts with many parade participants, we are not able to reschedule for another date this month.

"There are still many holiday events going on downtown Friday night, so we encourage everyone to come out, shop, eat, and enjoy the festivities," Angolia said.  

The Heart of Danville would like to extend a special thanks to Coach E.G. Plummer, who was this year's intended parade grand marshal.

Plummer graduated from Danville High School in 1956 as a three-sport letterman in football, basketball, and track. He has seven individual track state championship titles to his name. At the University of Kentucky, he was the SEC champion in the 880 and broke the conference record, which had stood for more than 30 years. He served much of his 41-year career in the Danville school system as an assistant principal at Bate Middle School and head coach of the Cross Country Program, which he started in 1966. As the head coach of the men and women's track teams, Plummer coached a total of 11 state championship teams at Danville. He continues to organize races for the local running community, and he coordinates two annual track and cross-country meets, which are named in his honor.