There are many traditions that the town of Wayne City holds every year. One of these traditions is the annual Hometown Christmas Parade. During the parade, the people of Wayne City gather to watch and support all the floats involved. This year was the seventh time the Christmas Parade has taken place, which was on December 9. It is always put on by Wayne City Matters, and for the past two years the agriculture teacher, Jennifer Ehrhart, and the Wayne City FFA have played a huge role. Ehrhart says, “I’m always proud of the hard work and dedication that our FFA members put into their community and trying to give back. We hope to continue helping Wayne City Matters for many years to come and hope that it will continue to grow even bigger each year.” She and the students helped sign up and organize the lineup for the 33 floats participating as well as choose the parade marshals and decide on prize money and categories for the floats. The parade marshals chosen this year were Rahn and Diane Thomason. Many groups and businesses were interested, but dropped out or said no due to weather uncertainty. Among the floats who did participate was the cheer and basketball float. “The Christmas Parade is always something I look forward to every year!” says MaKalyn Gregory, a cheerleader. The students of Wayne City always have a great time building floats and riding in the parade. Along with the lighted parade, they had various free attractions such as a petting zoo, horse and carriage rides, and food and drinks. The Annual Hometown Christmas Parade is always a hit and was a huge success this year.
