BRENHAM’S DOWNTOWN CHRISTMAS PARADE CANCELED
James Fisher
The Downtown Christmas Parade, scheduled for December 5th, has been officially canceled for this year. Brenham City Manager James Fisher told the city council during his remarks that with the COVID numbers increasing, he did not feel comfortable holding a parade downtown where two to four thousand people have attended in the past. He said keeping people apart at the Farmers Market and Downtown Stroll were one thing, but social distancing a parade is impossible, especially with kids on floats. Council member Susan Cantey agreed, saying that it should not be held this year. Council member Clint Kolby disagreed, saying people know the risks involved and it is no different than holding a softball tournament or going to a restaurant to eat.
Fisher’s Plan B would involve having the fire truck with Santa travel through each neighborhood in town at a walking pace, but not stopping.
He said they are still working out the details, but it sounds like the fire truck would travel from 5:30 to 7:30 PM and take 4 to 6 days to cover all of Brenham. Council member Keith Herring said he would volunteer his services to walk along beside the truck in his ward, and that the city should ask the Boy Scouts or other volunteer groups to do the same.
Although city council did not vote on the item, as it was not on the agenda, Fisher said after the meeting that the overall consensus of the council was to cancel the Christmas Parade this year and continue planning on having Santa travel through Brenham.
This is the best and safest decision they could have made! I am proud they are putting health and safety over unnecessary desires of people nothing thinking of others first. Stop making this sound so political and stop acting like your “freedoms” are being infringed upon. They are not being taken away. You are just losing a “tradition” and privilege temporarily to protect the health of many others. If you are so upset about not having a parade due to a deadly disease sweeping through our county (and the entire nation), maybe taking more care to follow ALL CDC guidelines and advisements should happen with everyone in the community. In the words of an amazing character on television (and movies), “The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few.”
Your comments are sad Mom.
No one is forcing you to do anything.
Cancel it all, is that your safe answer?
It is a shame that they canceled this event.
We look forward to it every year, as most do. I thought for a moment that the city was getting back to normal operations.
Mr. Fishcer, if you and your fellow council members are soo concerned then you need to cancel all sporting events at all of the parks, cancel New Years, cancel it all.
Oh, wait, that would cause a loss in revenue and we can’t have that, just cancel selective events that suit you.
Great job.
Sad, weak, and lame.
Where exactly did I say that we are being forced to do anything? Am I sad this event has been canceled? Yes. Should the cancel everything for the HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE COMMUNITY? YES!! The city cannot get back to “normal operations” till this is under control and that cannot happen with people not following the guidelines or having consideration for the health and safety of others. I don’t support the cherry picking of events to cancel but I do feel this is a step in the right direction. Maybe we all need to come together as the supportive and loving community we like to portray ourselves to be and either hold each other accountable for the protection of others or boycott community events that don’t call for protection of others.
Having community events is not a “freedom”. It is a privilege and privileges can be taken away.
When people are not responsible enough to wear masks and help slow the spread, then things have to be cancelled. Slowing the spread of COVID is a group effort. People who get mad about wearing masks and then associate their freedom with events getting cancelled are probably not taking the virus seriously which results in events getting cancelled and cases rising.
Thank you for being long sighted enough to cancel this unnecessary community event. I have lost family and friends to Covid even to not being able to attend funerals because of the fear of catching this wretched illness. Covid is real and it’s not fair that some go their merry way while others that take precautions and are careful stay at home for months at a time. We must do everything we can to get on top of the rates of positivity.
Remember once your freedoms are lost they are gone forever. This is how it starts first it is for your on safety, then it is for the safety of everyone, then because we think it is for your safety, and last because we said so and there is nothing you can do about. That is how dictators take control.
Oh come on with that hyperbolic mess. There is no reason whatsoever to connect measures put in place to protect the community from a serious virus is gonna be the end of freedom as we know it. Can adults please stop thinking like children?
Instead of Santa, why not have the Grinch that stole Christmas on the truck. Makes about as much sense. It’s starting to get really old having experts at making dumb a.. decisions trying to tell us how we should live.
Downtown restaurants and businesses should just promote themselves that same stroll night. Restaurants and businesses can show Brenham Mainstreet and Brenham Government that the show will go on with or without their government’s support.
Brenham Mainstreet no longer organizes the parade. It has been under the City of Brenham Parks Department the past several years. However, Brenham Mainstreet is still planning to hold all of their downtown activities the weekend of Christmas Stroll. The Farmer’s Market will be on Friday afternoon from 3:00 – 7:00. The Jingle Bell Market will be at Ant Street Inn Ballroom both Friday and Saturday. And 29 downtown businesses are participating all day Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in a “Taste of Christmas”, with a variety of food and drinks to try as you shop. Must Be Heaven is also doing “Breakfast with Santa” Saturday morning.
My goodness, now even outdoor events are getting cancelled!! This is getting beyond ridiculous!! They don’t want us to have Thanksgiving or Christmas or anything!! All you people that sat idly by and let them take freedoms away while actually AGREEING with it, this is all your fault!! You will own it when these freedoms NEVER return because they know they can “get away” with it. Unbelievable…..
What freedoms have been taken away? Can you provide just one example? Sad to see so many in our community screaming about freedoms gone and this is a how dictatorships start. Bunch of hogwash paranoia if you ask me.
I have a real long reply to this, once more, government intervention, into our lives, but in keeping with the rules, I will keep it short. Thanks again for keeping us safe from ourselves! So nice to know we have so many Dr’s, and scientist running our lives, and keeping us safe from ourselves. For many of us, the holiday season was going to be a small, but significant break from the the last 11months of pandemic pandering, and yet you are killing that for us. I’ll leave it at that, you get the message, but just in case. How about getting the heck out of our lives, and let us decide what we do. Not in your job description to ruin our lives. How about fixing some streets, or backup sewer lines. We can take care of ouselves!
I know that movie, “How the Grinch stole Christmas” what a shame
Welcome to the year of covid where nothing makes sense. Congrats to this city manager who is officially the worst ever. He should be fired immediately. This call makes no sense and once again hurts the children of this town.
The children will be just fine; plenty of other activities going on. Take them to the Round Top parade on the 5th I think.
Cancelling the parade is definitely the right thing to do. Thank you, Brenham City Council.
It is people like you that will have to own the lack of freedoms we will have in the future. It will be yours and those like you fault and will be too late when you finally realize what has happened. Sad, just sad.
Jesus Christ you all act like making this one sacrifice is the worst thing in the world. Every instruction comes from the government from which side of the road to drive on to when you can be in the park past sundown. This will not be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The longer this “let us choose” ideology goes on the longer these restrictions stick around. The experts know better than me, they know better than you. This isn’t some scheme to oppress us or take down the economy. The world can’t seem to agree on any one thing but this one virus everybody was able to work together to force people to wear masks and social distance. Sure…
Remember when all the older generations called the young generations “Spoiled” and “Entitled” because they were complaining about sacrifices needing to be made?
Pepridge Farm Remembers
What is sad is that you, most likely an adult, actually think that your reaction to this is logical and completely in proportion. Parade cancelled = the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power.
Smart decision. Maybe next year we can celebrate for a good reason. Keeping our citizens safe. Jesus is the reason for the season, not partying and spending money you don’t have.
Do you have a specific person in mind who parties and overspends downtown?