28th Annual Bel Air Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Brings Music, Celebration, Santa Downtown

From Bel Air Christmas Celebration Parade Chairman Mike Blum:

The parade is at 3:30 pm on Main Street. It starts at Churchville Road, makes a right turn onto Lee Street, and ends at Hickory Avenue. After the parade, the Bel Air Community Band plays from the Bandshell in Shamrock Park until about 4:45, there’s a bonfire, free hot chocolate and cookies for everyone, Christmas Carols, and the official TREE LIGHTING to end it all!

We have 9 LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL BANDS IN THIS PARADE — the most ever — every high school in the County is in this parade, except HdG and Aberdeen.

We have just about every daisy scout, brownie scout and cadette girl scout troop in greater Bel Air, Forest Hill and Fallston in this parade, all costumed in a variety of holiday ways — as cookies, elves, presents, snowmen, reindeer — you name it! Plus cub scouts, tiger scouts, boy scout troops.

We have color guards from APG (20th CBRNE Command) and the Marine Corps League.

We have acrobats, tumblers, stilts-walkers, cheerleaders, baton twirlers, jump-rope squads, cloggers and more!

We have costumed characters including DISNEY PRINCESSES, the GRINCH, FERROUS the IRONBIRD, FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, SUPER MARIO AND PRINCESS PEACH, and many more!

We have more horses than ever before, plus motorcycles and dogs and pets and farm animals! Mini-horses dressed as reindeer!

We have a wonderful NATIVITY FLOAT with a creche, wise men, live animals, the Star of Bethlehem and more!

Of course, the parade concludes with the official entrance of Santa into Bel Air!

The parade is judged by Judges Yolanda Curtin, Mimi Cooper, David Carey and Delegate Susan McComas of Bel Air. The MC at the Bandshell is Council Jim McMahan. We have a special guest at the Bandshell — Major General Randy Taylor, the Commandant of APG.

Before the parade, there is a free outdoor band concert at the Courthouse, starting at 2:30 pm.

The Parade and Celebration could not be held without the help and support of the Town of Bel Air, Susan Burdette, Mayor, and Jesse Bane, Town Manager, and Trish Heidenreich, Director of Economic Development; and the Bel Air Downtown Alliance, Christine McPherson, Executive Director. Many local businesses support the parade; their banners are carried in the parade in front of their sponsored units. Cub Scout Pack 777 of Bel Air provides the banner carriers!