Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – July 10, 2024 – The future of the Jonesboro Christmas Parade is up in the air…again. The Foundation of Arts has handled the daunting task of the parade for the last 2 years, but they need to turn it over to someone else.
The Jonesboro Jaycees ran the show for decades, but when they chose to dissolve their organization, that meant another group had the opportunity to pick up the parade ball and run with it.
At the time, Mikel Wewers was the FOA Executive Director. He told KAIT in April of 2022 that when the FOA heard the news that the Jaycees were ending things, they immediately wanted to step in. “It’s something that’s a tradition around here and for us to keep it alive is our number one goal,” he said. “We met and talked about it and thought it was a great idea,” he said to the station.
Things have changed. The Development Director for the FOA, “J” Jagriti, released a statement to JRN:
“We appreciate the opportunity to coordinate Jonesboro’s Christmas Parade for the past two years. We love our community, and we want the best for it. The FOA is getting ready for two Christmas Stage Productions during the Holiday season including everyone’s favorite, The Nutcracker. The timing of the parade and productions have presented a time constraint for our staff and volunteers. We encourage and support other organizations to lead the festivities and celebrate our wonderful community.”
The first week of December will be here before you know it. And the fate of the 77th Annual Jonesboro Christmas Parade is on the line.
Anybody got any extra time to help during the holidays?