NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Newtown Borough Council on Oct. 8 voted against moving up the start time for this year’s holiday parade by 15 minutes.
The start time will remain at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, according to a special events application approved by the council at its September meeting.
The Newtown Business Association, which organizes the annual parade through town, had initially requested an 11 a.m. start time to accommodate a larger parade, an awards ceremony afterward, and cleanup, which it hoped to complete for safety reasons before sunset at 4:37 p.m.
Several members of the religious community, including the Newtown Friends Meeting, voiced objections over the earlier start time, primarily raising concern over the potential for noise. Quakers worship in silence and were concerned with noise from the nearby parade disrupting their service.
After hearing the objections, the council voted to approve a 12:30 p.m. start time and not the requested 11 a.m. start. After passing that motion at its September meeting, Council President Emily Heinz said her vote could be swayed if the NBA could reach an agreement on an earlier start time with the Newtown Friends Meeting.
The NBA took Heinz up on the suggestion, reaching out to the Friends Meeting and coming to an agreement with meeting leaders for a 12:15 p.m. start time.
When the motion came to the floor on Oct. 8, council voted 4 to 2 against granting the extra 15 minutes. Council President Emily Heinz and Councilor Gail Foley voted in favor. Julia Woldorf, Josh Phillips, Kris Bauman, and Gina Tognini voted against granting the extra 15 minutes, voicing concern over Sunday worshipers having enough time to avoid the parade once their services had concluded.
According to parade organizer Dan Petty, the later start time will force organizers to break the parade into two parts: one that will begin at 12 p.m. at Washington Avenue and Sycamore Street and march north on Sycamore to Durham Road and the second part that will begin at 12:30 p.m., stepping off from the Stocking Works and following the traditional parade route.
"Not all of the acts will travel down State Street," said parade organizers in a statement to Patch. "To experience the full parade, we strongly encourage all viewers find a place along Sycamore between Washington and Durham. The main performance area will be in front of the Green Parrot and Revive Hive as in years past. That said, we will still have plenty of entertainment along State Street for those choosing to view from there starting at 12:30."
In addition to more than doubling the number of units in the parade from 50 to 100, the NBA will be setting up a Santa's Village open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Newtown Pizza parking lot. The village will feature a petting zoo, face painting, hair braiding, letters to Santa, pictures with characters, free hot chocolate, free candy, holiday-themed bounce houses, and much more.
An awards ceremony (new this year) will also take place at 3:30 p.m. at the judges' booth in front of Revive Hive and Green Parrot.
"Due to the logistical challenges and enhancements to the event, the parade is under serious consideration to be moved entirely to Sycamore Street in Newtown Township starting next year," said organizers in their statement. "This shift would only move the parade one block over and still be within easy walking distance for families.
"We want to thank the community for their understanding and support as we continue to grow this cherished community event," they added. "We encourage everyone to check in regularly with @NewtownBusinessAssociation and @NewtownNAC for updates and details of the parade."
Editor's Note: The story has been updated to reflect the accurate vote of borough council.