2025 PARADE RULES AND REGULATIONS
The Cedartown Christmas Parade is a long-standing community tradition centered on celebrating the Christmas season and highlighting the creativity of local people, businesses, churches, schools and organizations that make our community special.
To help ensure a safe, enjoyable and family-friendly event for everyone, all parade participants are expected to follow the rules and guidelines below.
1. Parade Entry Deadline
All parade entry applications must be submitted by Monday, November 30, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Applications received after the deadline may not be accepted.
2. Local Participation
To maintain the local community focus of the Cedartown Christmas Parade, participation is limited to applicants from Cedartown and surrounding communities. Applications from outside the local area may not be accepted.
Submission of an application does not guarantee acceptance into the parade.
3. Parade Theme & Decorations
All entries must be decorated in a manner that demonstrates creativity and originality and relates to the current year's parade theme.
All decorations, signs, banners, costumes, displays, vehicle graphics and other materials visible to spectators must be appropriate for a family-friendly community Christmas parade.
The following are not permitted:
Profane, vulgar, obscene or sexually explicit language or imagery
Obscene or offensive gestures
Threatening, intimidating or harassing displays or messages
Displays promoting violence or illegal activity
Content that is inappropriate for children
Materials intended primarily to provoke, harass or disrupt the parade or its participants
Any other material that is inconsistent with the family-friendly nature of the event
The Parade Committee may require an applicant to modify or remove a decoration, sign, banner, costume, display or other material that does not comply with these guidelines.
4. Music
Music played by parade entries must be appropriate for a family-friendly Christmas celebration and should be consistent with the Christmas or holiday theme of the parade.
Music containing profanity, sexually explicit content or other inappropriate material is not permitted.
5. Judging & Prizes
Judges will evaluate entries based on their interpretation of the parade theme, creativity, originality and overall presentation.
For questions regarding judging or prize eligibility, please contact avail@cedartowngeorgia.gov.
6. Parade Lineup
Parade lineup numbers will be assigned by the parade committee.
Participants will be notified of their parade position by telephone the day before the parade or the morning of the parade. Please provide a telephone number where you can be reached.
Participants are responsible for arriving at the designated staging area at the time and location provided by parade officials and for following all lineup instructions.
7. Vehicles & Drivers
Anyone operating a vehicle in the parade—including automobiles, trucks, ATVs, motorcycles, go-karts and similar vehicles—must have a valid driver's license appropriate for the vehicle being operated.
All vehicles must be operated safely and responsibly at all times.
Participants are responsible for complying with all applicable traffic and safety laws.
8. Unsafe Driving & Horseplay
Unsafe operation of vehicles is prohibited.
This includes, but is not limited to:
Burnouts or “laying drag”
Wheelies
Donuts
Drifting
Sudden or excessive acceleration
Reckless driving
Horseplay involving vehicles
Any maneuver that creates a danger to participants, spectators or other vehicles
Approved performances or maneuvers by authorized Shriners entries are permitted when conducted as part of their established parade performance and in a safe manner.
Any participant or driver engaging in unsafe behavior may be removed from the parade.
9. Santa Claus
To preserve Santa Claus's traditional role as the final entry in the parade, participants may not portray or impersonate Santa Claus.
Santa Claus costumes and Santa impersonations are not permitted for parade entries.
10. Candy & Items Distributed to Spectators
For the safety of spectators and participants, nothing may be thrown, tossed, launched or sprayed from a parade entry into the crowd or roadway.
This includes, but is not limited to:
Candy
Toys
Promotional items
Beads
Confetti
Liquids
Other objects or materials
Walkers may hand candy or other approved items directly to spectators, provided they do so safely and without encouraging spectators to enter the parade route.
11. Boarding & Exiting Entries
For safety reasons, no person may get on or off a float, vehicle or other parade entry once the entry has begun moving along the parade route.
Exceptions may be made in an emergency or when specifically directed by parade officials or emergency personnel.
12. Parade Route & Movement
All entries must remain on the designated parade route.
Entries may not:
Detour from the designated route without authorization
Intentionally stop the parade
Intentionally create unnecessary gaps in the parade
Block or interfere with the movement of other entries
Leave the parade route without direction from parade officials or emergency personnel
Participants must follow instructions from parade officials throughout the event.
13. Review & Approval of Entries
The parade committee may review an entry before the parade, including its proposed float, vehicle, decorations, signs, banners, costumes, music or other displays.
The parade committee may request additional information or photographs of an entry when necessary to determine whether it complies with these rules.
Approval of an application does not constitute approval of every decoration, sign, costume, display or other material ultimately used in the parade.
14. Enforcement
The parade committee reserves the right to:
Deny or decline an application
Require modifications to an entry
Require removal of a decoration, sign, banner, costume, display or other material
Remove an entry or participant from the parade
Restrict participation when necessary for safety or orderly operation of the event
Consider violations when determining eligibility for future parade participation
Serious or intentional violations may result in removal from the parade without warning when immediate action is necessary for the safety of participants or spectators.
15. Acceptance of Rules
By submitting a parade application, the applicant acknowledges that they have read and agree to comply with these rules & regulations and understands that participation in the Cedartown Christmas Parade is subject to approval by the parade committee.
Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all members of their group, drivers, performers, volunteers and other participants associated with their entry understand and follow these rules.
Thank you for helping us continue this cherished Cedartown tradition and for making the Christmas Parade a safe, festive and enjoyable celebration for our entire community.