Lack of interest forces cancellation of Camp Verde Parade of Lights

CAMP VERDE — With only four parade entries as of 3 p.m. Thursday, Camp Verde Parks and Recreation has canceled this year’s drive-thru Parade of Lights, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at the town’s new sports complex on Champion Trail.

“We had to make a decision,” Parks and Recreation Manager Mike Marshal said. “Parades take community involvement in the form of parade entries and crowd, but without parade entries, there is no event.”

Marshal explained that Parks and Recreation considered another form of this event. “But at this point, it is hard to get the word out to the community and also hard for staff to scramble and put together a successful event,” he said.

“Please know that we do not take lightly our decision to cancel or postpone any program or event, and we will continue to monitor our local situation as we move forward,” marshal said. “If we can reschedule these events at a later time or with other modifications to make them safer we will. Our goal is to continue to monitor conditions and provide programming opportunities that are as safe as possible for all involved.”

Typically, the Parade of Lights travels down Camp Verde’s Main Street. But because of COVID-19, Parks and Recreation decided in late-November to remake this year’s event as a drive-thru.

“When we made the difficult decision to cancel the parade in its traditional format we said we would try and create a safe alternative,” Marshall said in late-November. “We believe this drive-thru version fixes all the health concerns and allows us to fulfill our mission to provide safe programming for our community.”

For more information, call 928-554-0820 (option No. 3) or email parks@campverde.az.gov.