The 2023 Raleigh Christmas Parade is planned to continue without any motorized floats or vehicles this year.
On Thursday, Sept. 14, the City of Raleigh denied the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association´s request for a permit for the annual Raleigh Christmas Parade. City officials did this out of respect for the family of Hailey Brooks, the 11 year-old dancer at CC and Co. Dance Complex who was killed by an out-of-control truck in last year´s Christmas Parade.
Junior Gabbie Franks, a dancer at Holly Springs School of Dance, who annually dances in the parade said, ¨What happened last year was very tragic and very traumatic, and honestly, I didn’t think they were going to do it this year, just to give everyone a break.¨
After the decision went public and the Brooks family heard of it, they opposed it and wanted to parade to continue. The family´s attorney, Jason Miller, in a WRAL News interview, stated that all the Brooks family hoped for was safer precautions and stricter rules placed onto the parade to ensure people’s safety, rather than canceling it all together. The parade was something the family had always enjoyed being involved in together and did not want it to be put to a stop.
City officials came to the compromise the following Friday that the parade would be able to continue, as long as they did so without the use of any motorized floats and vehicles. This is to help the safety of the parade participants and do the best to avoid any more accidents like the one involving Brooks, while still honoring her memory.
Lela Carrel, a junior at Middle Creek High School, who formerly danced with Brooks, said ¨I think the choice of not canceling the parade was the right choice in honoring Hailey because that’s not what Hailey would have wanted.¨
In response to this decision, The Greater Raleigh Merchants Association presented the city council with an extensive list of new safety precautions. The association is working hard to prevent any more incidents while trying their best to give local businesses the advertising the parade provides and other participants the opportunity to participate. The city has yet to respond on the new list of rules.
As of now, the Raleigh Christmas Parade is still planned to occur on Saturday, Nov. 18, without motorized vehicles. People hope for the parade to eventually be able to return to normal function with the right safety rules and regulations in place.
̈The more important thing is to add the legislature about the vehicles instead of just cutting them out completely. If we only fix one parade, we are not fixing the problem,¨ said Carrel.
