Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
The event has been postponed until Dec. 9 due to weather concerns.
Citing weather concerns, the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce has postponed Friday’s Portales Christmas Light Parade, to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9.
“With the forecast calling for rain and wind chills in the low 20s before parade time, the Chamber wants to err on the side of caution and reschedule for next week,” said Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry via a media release. “We have a lot of small children in the parade and on the street watching. We don’t want them wet with freezing temperatures in the forecast.”
Officials said the parade would begin at the Portales Rec Center, travel to Avenue D to Second Street and around the courthouse square, where it disbands at the C & S, Inc. parking lot. Previously registered parade entries do not need to re-register.
Officials said the Portales parade will be led by a float carrying the new little miss merry christmas, 5-year-old Aaliyah Rodriguez, accompanied by the other contestants and young women who have participated in the Miss New Mexico Pageant.
Meanwhile, Clovis MainStreet Executive Director Lisa Pellegrino-Spear said this year’s Christmas Lights Parade, which is hosted by the non-profit organization, remains slated for 6 p.m. Saturday.
“We met with all of the community partners and at this point we anticipate any threatening weather will gone by 11 a.m. on Saturday,” she said. “If there are any significant changes we’ll post updates on our Facebook page and alert all of the local media outlets. We’re looking forward to a great time.”
More than 8,000 area residents are expected to gather for the iconic Clovis event, which officials said has been extended one block from last year. This year, between 60 and 80 floats are expected to travel from 14th Street to Second Street. Another difference this year, organizers said, is the theme, “Main Street Misfit Toys,” alluding to the Island of Misfit Toys featured in the classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Christmas TV special.
Spectators can expect “lots of lights and lots of fun floats,” Pellegrino-Spear said, as well as an appearance from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
