March of the Toys Parade Trots Into Ball Ground

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The March of the Toys Parade for Toys for Tots will soon return to the streets of downtown Ball Ground.

The third annual event will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4. Attendees to the parade 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 Main Street.

The parade will feature the Griswold Truckster that appeared in the 2015 movie Vacation. Other participants include the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, Christian Fine Arts of Forsyth Marching Band, the Creekview High School Marching Band, a replica of the 1966 Batmobile, superheroes and princesses, Star Wars characters, beauty queens, dance groups, floats, tractors, antique cars and much more.

This year’s grand marshal will be Roger McDaniel, who played football for the University of Mississippi and was also a band member for Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Lee Lewis.

McDaniel, a lung cancer survivor, founded the first homeschool tackle football team in the state of Georgia and has volunteered his time over the last 15 years to coach the North Georgia Falcons. McDaniel and his wife, Dianna, have three sons and one granddaughter.

Several cosplayers, people who portray a fictional character by dressing in costume, are also participating in the parade. Some of the entrees include Superheroes like the Batman, The Flash, Batgirl, Mr. Incredible and Captain America.

There will also be a host of princesses, too, like Elsa, Anna, Rapunzel, Flynn, Cinderella, Belle, Tinkerbell, Ariel, Alice, and we will also have the Mad Hatter, characters from The Wizard of Oz and many more.

Plus, there will be pirates and wenches. After the parade, cosplayers will gather at City Park so 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 absolutely free, so don’t forget to bring your camera.

The parade is one of the largest Christmas parades in North Georgia.

“Last year’s estimate was that 5,000 people came out for the parade,“ said parade coordinator Tim Cavender. “ I do encourage attendees to get to the event a little early.”

The event will also feature a large model train display from the Atlantic Coast S Gaugers Club, who will have a large modular train layout at The V Market located in downtown Ball Ground. The large 16-foot-by-36-foot layout will feature four trains running at one time.

The model train layout will be on display from 4:30 p.m. to about 10 p.m. Dec. 4. The layout will also be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the following Saturday for the public to enjoy. There will also be a vendor area, located on Old Dawsonville Road next to City Park, so attendees can do a little Christmas shopping and food vendors to take care of your appetite, too.

Santa’s Candy Shop will also be open and features homemade sweets and all of your favorite candies from Christmases past. The Ball Ground Historical Society will be selling their new calendars and their 2015 Christmas ornaments.

Local author, Larry Cavender, will be selling and autographing his new book called The Patchwork Quilt that features numerous stories on the people, businesses and history of the city of Ball Ground.

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

For more information about the event, visit its Facebook page.

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Photo: Santa and Mrs. Claus outside the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, which will make an appearance at the third annual March of the Toys Parade for Toys for Tots. Credit: Tim Cavender