The Collegedale-Ooltewah area is watching its fourth consecutive Christmas season fly by without a “Spirit of Christmas” parade, once a longstanding tradition. Collegedale Commissioner Tonya Sadler is trying to revive the event, and city leaders have discussed the possibility of hosting the parade on the campus of Southern Adventist University.
The parade was founded in 1999 by Steve Ray, who runs a tire service and repair shop in Ooltewah. Although Collegedale community members organized the event for 19 years, the responsibility of hosting the parade passed on to the City of Collegedale in 2019. A year later, the city canceled the parade due to guidelines included in the Tennessee Pledge, an executive business guidance plan implemented by the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Chattanoogan article.
During commission meetings in October, Sadler and other city leaders discussed the possibility of organizing a Christmas parade this year. Many obstacles, ranging from Collegedale’s rapid growth in recent years to concerns about where the parade could realistically be held, have complicated the process of resurrecting the event.
For several years preceding the pandemic, the Spirit of Christmas Parade ran along Little Debbie Parkway and Apison Pike. This historic route is no longer a realistic option because residents need to enter and exit the apartment complexes built along Little Debbie Parkway, and more businesses have opened near both roads, stated some city leaders, such as City Manager/Engineer Wayon Hines and Public Works Director Eric Sines. In an interview with the Accent, Ray expressed similar sentiments.
“You have to close Little Debbie Parkway,” said Ray, who was heavily involved in planning the parade during its 20-year run. “In 1999, that wasn’t a big deal. As years have gone by, closing Little Debbie Parkway at 3 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon — that is a traffic disaster. I hate to say it, but personally, I think the community outgrew the parade.”
“You have to close Little Debbie Parkway. In 1999, that wasn’t a big deal. As years have gone by, closing Little Debbie Parkway at 3 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon — that is a traffic disaster. I hate to say it, but personally, I think the community outgrew the parade.”
Ray referenced how other nearby cities like Red Bank, East Ridge and Cleveland have a Main Street where they can host a large event similar to the Spirit of Christmas Parade. Ray said Collegedale doesn’t have that option, as its Main Street is a narrow, two-lane road.
During an Oct. 23 commission workshop meeting, Hines pitched the idea of holding the parade on Southern’s campus next year in conjunction with the university’s Christmas Tree Lighting. The event would still be hosted, advertised and insured by the City of Collegedale. Hines proposed for planning to start around late July, giving planners three to four months to get all vendors and participants lined up for the parade.
Vice Mayor Tim Johnson disagreed with Hines, stating that he still was not in favor of hosting the parade on “that side of the mountain” and wanted to keep the event closer to the “heart” of the city. Hines said that from a logistical approach, Southern is the safer and more practical option. He added that the university provides an opportunity to grow the event given the student body that is already on campus. Johnson was still hesitant.
“I just don’t want it limited to vegetarian food,” Johnson said.
“This would be a city event, being sensitive to the location but cannot be dictated by it,” Hines responded.
Sadler supported the vice mayor’s concerns, stating that the parade should be held closer to the city center considering leaders’ efforts to revitalize the area. She said she was willing to go door-to-door to ask local businesses what they think about hosting the parade on a main road.
Hines’ concluding proposal was to circle back sometime in January or February to make a final decision on whether or not the city should host the parade closer to the city center or “do a true, big, formal parade” in conjunction with Southern. This would give city leadership plenty of time, Hines said, to coordinate with Southern to start planning in July or August if they decide to collaborate with the university.
Marty Hamilton, associate vice president for Financial Administration at Southern, wrote in an email to the Accent that the city did contact him about the possibility of running the Christmas parade through University Drive and Collegedale Drive East. The university and the city are having discussions about the feasibility of holding the event on campus and identifying a primary planner.
“To my knowledge, no decision has been made, and I don’t believe Southern will take the lead on planning the entire program. So there is much more conversation needed if we are going to partner with the City of Collegedale,” Hamilton wrote. “Bottom line, I think there is an openness to ‘talk’ more and see if what Southern does for Christmas can work together with the City Christmas Parade. The City apparently does not want to plan the event; they want someone else to do that, and they just play a supporting role.”
“Bottom line, I think there is an openness to ‘talk’ more and see if what Southern does for Christmas can work together with the City Christmas Parade.”
The last “Spirit of Christmas” parade, hosted by Collegedale Parks and Recreation in 2019, ran a mile long, beginning at the Ooltewah Youth Association ballfields and ending at Ooltewah Middle School. In 2018, the parade, organized by the Samaritan Center, began on Jac Cate Road, turned east on Main Street and ended at the middle school.
Although no parade happened this year, Collegedale Parks and Recreation hosted its second annual “Christmas in Collegedale” at The Commons on the first Sunday of December. The family-friendly event featured food trucks, musical performances and a canned food drive organized by the Collegedale Police Department.
“Things come and go in our lives and in communities,” said Ray. “The community could have outgrown the parade, and that’s not a bad thing; it’s just the way life is. Progress goes on; it marches on, and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Maybe the event at The Commons is the future. That can be as fun as a parade and set you in the spirit as well. Maybe that’s the answer.”
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