Photo by Jon Anderson
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Hundreds of people took part in the 2019 Bluff Park Christmas Parade in Hoover, Alabama, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019.
Bluff Park is gearing up for its 2021 Christmas parade after having to cancel last year’s parade due to rain.
“We’re really excited to be able to do it again this year,” said Lori Redding, one of five primary organizers. “It’s something fun for us to be able to do.”
This year’s parade, which is open to the entire community (not just Bluff Park) is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4, and will take the same route as it did two years ago, starting and ending at the park next to the Shades Cliff pool, Redding said.
The parade will proceed along Cloudland Drive (behind Bluff Park Elementary School), turn right onto Lester Lane, then turn south on Clearview Road (which turns into Maiden Lane), right onto Rockview Lane, right onto Cloudland Drive and end back at the park next to Shades Cliff Pool, she said.
The parade two years ago had hundreds of people in it, taking up about 40 entry spots. Participants included churches, Scouting groups, businesses, the Simmons Middle School cheerleaders, majorettes, the American Legion, families, groups of friends and, of course, Santa Claus. Organizers gave out gift cards for the top parade entries.
Anyone interested in being part of this year’s parade can fill out a registration form on the Bluff Park Christmas Parade Facebook page. The entry fee is $30 and helps cover expenses such as liability insurance and assistance from Hoover police officers, Redding said.
The parade costs between $1,000 and $1,500 to organize and implement, Redding said. Organizers this past summer sold Bluff Park and Hoover Buc T-shirts to help pay for it.
Organizers are asking people driving to Bluff Park to watch the parade to park at Shades Crest Baptist Church and Bluff Park Elementary School. The parade will go behind the school on Cloudland Drive but not by Shades Crest Baptist on Park Avenue. The church parking lot, however, is one of the closest parking lots.
Earlier in the day, a brand new race called the Bluff Park 8K is scheduled to take place at 7:20 a.m. and will be over in plenty of time so as not to conflict with the parade. Read more about the Bluff Park 8K here. As of Thursday night, 270 people had registered, organizer Lynsey Tibbs said.
Editor's note: This article was updated at 12:02 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, with information about the Bluff Park 8K.
