Christmas time is here, and the community is full of cheer as Rockmart readies for tonight’s parade down South Marble Street with the tree lighting by Santa finishing off the 2024 event.
The parade is set to begin at 6 p.m. in Rockmart in front of City Hall and make its way to South Marble Street in downtown Rockmart to the front of the history museum, where parade goers can watch the tree lighting at the end of the procession with carols performed by the Rockmart Community Chorus.
Polk County’s own Olympic Hero Brody Malone is this year’s Grand Marshal for the parade. He’ll be heading up the procession, while Santa will be at the tail end on a Rockmart Fire Department engine waiting to complete his work for the night as the parade concludes.
Dozens of entries are taking part in the annual holiday celebration, which were cut off on November 15.
Temperatures are set to dip down toward freezing by the time the parade starts tonight, so take advantage of opportunities for Hot Cocoa when available downtown (I suspect downtown businesses and organizations might be setting up something later…) and bundle up for the at least 20 minutes it’ll take for the first floats and bands to arrive on South Marble Street.
Expect temporary street closures around College Street, North Piedmont Avenue, East Elm Street and South Marble Street later this afternoon ahead of the parade, and expect to need to detour around the area if you are passing through.