With all the doubts surrounding COVID-19’s impact on events, Foliage Sertoma Club President Lorena Potter said she “wasn’t sure initially” if the organization’s annual Apopka Christmas Parade would happen this year.
To that effect, the Foliage Sertoma Club, which has been sponsoring the parade for nearly 44 years, called a board meeting to discuss the matter. The club also had the conversation with Mayor Bryan Nelson and they decided that, “If we take reasonable precautions, then we should be able to do a parade,” Potter said.
“Given that it’s an outside event, we have the ability to socially distance the entrance,” she said. “We’re going to try to put up some publicity through the newspaper and through our other advertising venues to ask the spectators to try to socially distance along the parade route.”
Potter acknowledged the long parade route that goes from Second Street to Votaw Road: “Usually, the spectators tend to bunch up around the park between Second and Orange streets, so we’re going to hopefully encourage the spectators to spread out their groups along the parade route, socially distance, and just follow whatever reasonable guidelines we can to make it comfortable and safe for everyone.”
The Apopka Christmas Parade will take place on Saturday, December 12, stepping off at 10 a.m. With the theme being “Health, Hope, and Unity,” the parade will travel its traditional route along Park Avenue, going north from Third Street to Votaw Road.
For more information and to obtain an entrant application, email Potter at forevrbzy60@gmail.com, visit the Foliage Sertoma Club’s website www.foliagesertoma.org, or contact the city of Apopka at 407-703-1700. Applications can also be picked up at any of the city of Apopka’s recreation offices.
To donate to the club, visit www.foliagesertoma.org to pay by credit card on the sponsor/donation link or make a check payable to the Foliage Sertoma Club of Apopka, P.O. Box 718, Apopka, 32704-0718.
The full story beings on page 1A of the Friday, October 30, issue of The Apopka Chief. Subscribe today!
