March of the Toys Parade Rolls Into Ball Ground

BALL GROUND, GA -- Friday, Dec. 2 will bring the 4th annual March of the Toys Parade for Toys For Tots to Ball Ground.

The parade will begin at 7 p.m., and attendees are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys For Tots campaign.

Collection boxes for the toys will be available at City Park and along the parade route on Gilmer Ferry Road.

This year’s grand marshal will be Garrett Able, local actor who recently appeared as Darrell Waltrip in the CMT miniseries called "NASCAR: The Rise of Speed." He has also appeared in "Paper Boys," "Insurgent" and "We Are Marshal."

The parade will feature the Georgia Tech Gold Rush Dance Team. The Gold Rush dancers have made numerous national appearances on television, including Fox & Friends, CNN, Lifetime, ESPN and The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Another Dance Team, the Georgia State University Pantherettes, will also wow audiences.

This group has appeared in the motion picture "The Watch," which stars Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. They appeared in the television show,"Drop Dead Rivals." In the summer of 2013, the team appeared on "Fox Sports Race Day," which was broadcast live from the Atlanta Motor Speedway and in the summer of 2014, the team appeared on "America's Got Talent."

Other participants include the Creekview High School Marching Band, Christian Fine Arts of Forsyth Marching Band, beauty queens, floats, tractors, antique cars and much more.

“We have had an unbelievable response from Cosplayers from as far away as Knoxville, Tennessee, that will be appearing as superheroes, princesses and Star Wars characters,” said Tim Cavender, who is the parade chairman.

Some of the entrees include superheroes like the Batman, Spiderman, The Incredibles, Batgirl, Batwoman, Supergirl, The Green Lantern, Ms. Marvel, The Hulk and Superman. There will also be a host of princesses, too, like Snow White, Rapunzel, Flynn, Cinderella, Belle, Tinkerbell, Ariel, Alice, and we will also have the Mad Hatter.

A bonus: Buzz from Georgia Tech will join this year's lineup as well. After the parade, the Cosplayers will gather at City Park where children can have their photos taken with their favorite fictional character. This is also the time when Santa and Mrs. Claus make their official arrival to the town.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be located on the stage at City Park for photos. Photos are free of charge, so don’t forget to bring your camera.

The event will also feature a large model train display. The Atlantic Coast S Gaugers Club will have a large modular train layout at the building next to the Ball Ground Animal Hospital located at the corner of Gilmer Ferry Road and Civic Drive, across the road from Lions Club Ball Park. The model train layout will be on display from 4:30 p.m. to about 10 p.m. Friday.

The layout will also be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday for the public to enjoy.

The parade is one of the largest Christmas parades in North Georgia, garnering about 7,000 people for the 2015 installment.

“This is an awesome event that the whole family can enjoy,” Cavender said.

To learn more about the event, visit www.marchofthetoysparade.com.

Image via Shutterstock