Over the years, families have come together in Soddy Daisy on the first Sunday of every December for the annual Soddy Daisy Christmas Parade. The parade began this year at 2:00 p.m. The parade went all the way down Dayton Pike from Harrison Lane to Sequoyah Road.
There were multiple floats in the parade along with bands, dancers, antique cars, small businesses, influential people, and even Santa Claus. “We are truly happy to host one of the biggest attractions we have for our citizens and the whole community that makes up the great City of Soddy-Daisy,” said Robert Cothran, President VVA 942, one of the parade’s lead organizers. The Soddy Daisy Christmas Parade is one of the biggest events to happen in the Soddy Daisy community each year.
People in different cars and floats would throw out candy for the audience cheering on the sides of the road. The Soddy Daisy High School Marching Band, along with the girls’ and boys’ lacrosse teams, the football team and cheerleaders, the basketball team, and the ROTC participated in the parade. This year the mayor and people running in the election in the Soddy Daisy community all had their floats. All cheer and competition dance teams from around the area were in the parade as well. For the floats to be eligible for judging, an American flag had to be displayed somewhere on their masterpiece.
The Soddy Daisy Christmas parade was open to all who wished to participate. There were volunteers from the local Vietnam Veterans of America who arrived early on the morning of the parade. The volunteers from the local Vietnam Veterans of America made sure everything was in place and organized. They were also in charge of maintaining the order of the floats, bands, and all of the participants to make the parade go accordingly.