While it may sound Grinchy to an outsider, the City of Plainview is setting a firm rule for this year’s Christmas parade: “NO candy or anything can be handed out on the street by floats!” And while this has been the rule for a few years, it seems the City needs to emphasize it for this year, too.
Why The Plainview Parade No Longer Allows Candy From Floats
I remember attending small-town parades with my grandparents and grabbing candy thrown from cars and floats- and when I was a little older, throwing candy myself. My grandparents lived in an extremely small town in Oklahoma, and it was part of that small-town feel.
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However, Plainview is getting bigger (and has always been bigger than Boswell, OK), and with it comes more concern for safety and liability. That is the stated reason for the rule, and why candy, beads, toys, etc. are not allowed to be thrown from floats. It’s also important to note that this parade takes place at night, when visibility for drivers is more limited.
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Reading between the lines (and in the comments of the Facebook post), it does appear that parade attendee behavior in the past also factored into this decision. From the comments:
I drove it one year and it’ll make ya nervous! Here’s an idea how about you folks control your dang kids instead of letting them run wild like animals? It’s always the city’s fault for taking away the free things,right?
We stopped participating in the parade when one year we drove in it and literally almost ran over so many people who were arms length out the drivers door. And 2nd when they would push and shove our Littles trying to take candy and ripped it out of their hands! We haven’t been in years! The things people would do for candy is insane!
The grown ups are the biggest problem when it comes to floats giving out candy. Pushing the kids out of the way so their kids can get all the candy. It’s sad that grown people act like that and ruin a great tradition.
Other Rules For Plainview Parade Floats
All floats must have Christmas lights, and there is only one Santa and Mrs. Claus ( I mean, we all know that to be true anyway). And if an individual/ business absolutely must pass out candy, they can do so on the sidewalk next to the businesses. Vehicles must be attended at all times and must be lined up by 5:30 p.m. the night of the parade.
For more information about the parade (or to read those juicy comments for yourself), head here.
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