New Albany Christmas parade cancelled due to COVID

Mayor Tim Kent said Monday morning that the New Albany Christmas Parade has been cancelled for this year.

The community Christmas tree lighting set for this Thursday will go on as scheduled, however.

“We’ve been talking about it a couple of weeks, hoping the numbers would go down,” he said. “But they’re getting worse.”

The mayor said they feared that crowds would not practice social distancing and many people won’t wear masks.

The Union County Library staff, selected as grand marshals for the parade, will serve next year instead.

Kent said they have not cancelled the tree lighting ceremony because of the short notice and groups having already scheduled to be there.

Also, the ceremony will draw fewer people than the parade would.