Officials from the City of Petal are once again putting on a full day’s worth of holiday activities with the city’s upcoming Christmas events, including the annual Petal Christmas Parade and Celebration in the Park.
Festivities, which are put on by the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce, will begin with the parade, which will be held from 4-5 p.m. December 2 on the streets of downtown Petal. The parade, with the theme of “Christmas Classics,” will follow its usual route, starting at Dirt Cheap on North Main Street and ending at Hinton Park behind Petal Civic Center on South Main Street.
“I’m thrilled to do (both of these events),” said Valerie Wilson, executive director of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce. “It does a lot for our community, and I think it is a tradition that deserves to be made better every year.
“The people of our community need to know that they have a regular, small-town tradition that’s important to them, and that means a lot to them.”
With its “Christmas Classics” theme, the parade promised to bring to life stories such as The Nutcracker, A Christmas Story and A Christmas Carol. Grand marshal for the parade – which officials guesstimate started in the 1960s – will be Leahne Lightsey, who recently retired as executive director of the Petal School District Education Foundation.
Lightsey graduated from Quitman High School and attended Meridian Junior College upon graduation. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree and a Master’s of Science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, with continuing education from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
In 1981, she began a career at Jones County Junior College (now Jones College) as the child development instructor/lab school director. In 1992, she moved to Petal so her five-year-old could begin kindergarten in the Petal School District.
In 2006, she retired from Jones County Junior College and took over as executive director of the Petal Education Foundation the next year.
Lightsey’s memberships and volunteer work are almost too numerous to list, but include serving as board member of the Greater Pine Belt Foundation, member of the Petal Downtown Revitalization Committee, a former board member of the United Way of Southeast Mississippi, the co-initiator of the City of Petal’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program, a 17-year member of the Cosmopolitan Club of Petal, former chairperson of the Petal Excel By 5 Coalition and board member of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce.
Honor guard for the parade will be handled by the Mississippi Youth Challenge Academy from Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Hattiesburg, and the drum corps will feature the Coca-Cola Santa Claus truck. The Petal High School band also will feature in the event.
Judges for the parade include Forrest County District 2 Supervisor Sharon Thompson. She will be joined by Jones Stanford, pastor of Petal United Methodist Church, and his wife Katie, who is a teacher in the Lamar County School District.
“It looks like we have more (float) entries this year than we’ve had in many years – a lot more,” Wilson said. “So that’s good.”
The Celebration in the Park will be held from 4 p.m. to approximately 7 p.m. December 2 at Hinton Park, behind Petal Civic Center on South Main Street.
Immediately following the parade, officials will light up multiple Christmas trees during the annual Petal Arts Council Festival of Trees. The trees, which are sponsored by local businesses and individuals, will be on display along the park’s walking track.
“Several community businesses and civic organizations have decorated trees in the park for us to enjoy,” Wilson said. “There will be a variety of trees – all sorts.”
The event also will include live music, along with food and craft vendors.
Celebration in the Park was instituted in 2019, when parade attendees expressed a desire to enjoy more activities after the Christmas parade.
“People felt that at the end of the parade, they wanted more things to do, more fun, more activities for the kids, rather than ‘the parade’s over; let’s go home,’” Wilson said. “So we started that … and we had a break in 2020 because of COVID.
“People just really enjoy it, and it’s a really good opportunity for our vendors, our local artists and craftsmen, to have a chance to sell some of their work before the holidays.”
