It breaks my heart to report this, but the 58th annual Killeen Christmas Parade has been cancelled.

In a news alert issued Wednesday afternoon, the City of Killeen's Executive Director of Communications, Hilary J. Shine, broke the sour news about the parade, which had been scheduled to happen downtown Saturday, December 12.

"The ongoing pandemic limited the number of parade entries received, resulting in the decision to cancel the parade," Shine wrote.

 

For health and safety reasons, this year's parade would have been what some are calling a "reverse parade", meaning floats and displays would have lined the streets and families would have driven by them form the safety of their own vehicles.

It's a shame there weren't enough entries, because in a year like this I feel like that's a cool idea.

It's not all gloomy, though. The Killeen Christmas tree lighting and Holiday Under the Stars are still on for this week.

This Thursday, December 3, Killeen Mayor Jose Segarra will light the 50-foot silhouette Killeen Christmas Tree at the Killeen Community Center, 2201 E Veterans Memorial Blvd, at 6PM. Your family is invited to park and enjoy the ceremony to kick off the Christmas season in Killeen.

The next day, Friday, December 4, Holiday in the Park happens at Lions Club Park Hike and Bike Trail, 1600 E. Stan Schlueter Loop from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Admission to this outdoor, open air event is free, and your family can enjoy food trucks, hot cocoa, and other treats and surprises.

 

Unfortunately, the Copperas Cove Christmas parade scheduled for this Saturday, December 5, has also been cancelled due to law participation.

The Copperas Cove Leader Press' Lynette Sowell reports that the city's Krist Kindl Markt will still take place at the Copperas Cove Civic Center Thursday 5-9 PM, Friday 5-10 PM, Saturday 10AM-10PM, and Sunday Noon-4PM.

According to the City of Temple, the Temple Christmas Parade will still be held Monday, December 7 from 6:30-8:20 PM. It will be a "frozen parade", meaning floats and displays will line the streets around Santa Fe Plaza downtown and your family can drive by and enjoy them from the comfort of your vehicle.

If you can't make it out, you'll be able to see a live stream of the parade on the Temple Parks & Rec Facebook page starting at 6:25 PM Monday.

Troy has a Christmas parade and Party in the Park event planned for Saturday, December 12. You can find details on that here.

LOOK: See what Christmas was like the year you were born

 

More From KUSJ-FM