SPENCER — The town is returning to its roots this year by bringing back the Spencer Christmas parade.

The Holiday Caravan Parade will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 27 from North Rowan High School, and there will be food trucks and local restaurants selling food for those in the parade, those watching, and anyone downtown for the evening.

For several years, Spencer and the city of Salisbury joined forces and had a parade that began in Spencer and ended in Salisbury. When it became clear that the time had come for Spencer and Salisbury to host separate events, Heather Rosino and her mother Lynn Purvis put out a call to the community to gauge interest in renewing Spencer’s parade. The number of people who showed up in support at that first meeting let the two women know, the town is more than ready to hold its own.

Not quite three months later, there are 53 entries in the parade that will step off at 6:30 p.m. from North Rowan High School.

“I thought, hoped we might get about 30 entries,” Rosino said. “So, I am beyond excited about the response we have gotten. And if this is what we can do in three months, imagine what we can do next year.”

Participants include school bands, at least one dance group, cheerleaders, first responders from several departments, some vehicle displays including both antique cars and other vehicles such as four-wheelers, several businesses and civic groups, a circus train and dignitaries.

Applications for participation are closed, but organizers say applications are already available for next year.

At a working committee meeting last week, committee members took individual index cards, each with a participant’s name, and lined them up on a long table. Then they began the work of arranging the lineup for the parade that will run down Salisbury Avenue in front of town hall. They paid particular attention to any groups that with either perform or play music, trying to give enough separation between each that attendees can enjoy each performance without overlap.

The parade route will be just over a mile long and will be lead by the Spencer police department. Santa will, of course, be the final float, coming in on a Radio Flyer, and the North Rowan High School band will have the honor of leading Santa in.

Currently the parade committee consists of Rosino and Purvis, who are the leaders of the committee, along with Rosino’s sister Devan Purvis, Leslie Talbott, Wyna Howe, Jennifer Crawford, Greg Lambeth, Coleman Wilson, Laurie Deal-Wilson, Kyle Harris as the liaison for the town and alderman Steve Miller.

“We have all been surprised and pleased by the support from across Rowan County,” said Howe, who added that all the members were a little nervous at the start about whether or not they would get enough participants.

“Like Heather, I thought maybe we’d get 30, at least I hoped so,” said Deal-Wilson, who runs Old 97 Kettlecorn with her son, Coleman. The two have sponsored and organized the food trucks and worked with brick and mortar restaurants for the event, and “we did choose trucks with reasonable prices, because we want people to be able to grab a bite before the parade since it’s happening during normal dinner time.” Deal-Wilson said when she was in high school and a member of the marching band, they didn’t get a chance to have anything to eat and by the end of the parade “we were starving.” She laughed and then said she “hopes the kids will get to have something to eat first,” which is why the food trucks and restaurants will begin their parade-related sales at 3:30 p.m. There will be at least one food truck parked at the high school.

“We understand this is going to be something of a learning year,” added Talbott, “and we know we’ll make some mistakes, but that’s how we grow, and get better.” Talbott, an actress, said she understands “absolutely” that “live performances can have things that go wrong, but you carry on, and that’s what we’ll do. It’s just going to be so much fun.”

Rosino added, “I do want to emphasize that this is an event for everyone, because this is about celebrating our entire community.”

She did say the event still needs one bit of help — volunteers. She is looking for about 30 people who can help with traffic control, and said responsible younger applicants will be considered, “but this is not a time to be on your phone.” Any young volunteer will also be paired with an adult. All volunteers will help guide cars through detours and manage traffic flow, but there will be training and maps and communication for all. Anyone interested can either visit the parade Facebook page (here) or email spencersholidaycaravan@gmail.com.

Donations have helped with the cost of the event. The Spencer Moose Lodge has made the top donation to the event, with $5,000, but both Innospec and Cathy Griffin donated $2,500. Andrew Howe and the NC Transportation Museum each donated $1,000.

Spencer first held a Christmas parade in 1952 with three floats, and alderman Steve Miller’s father was one of the founders of that parade. Miller himself served on the parade committee for years, including when it became a joint venture with the city of Salisbury, but these days, he’s more of an advisor.

“I am here if they have questions, but mostly I’m an observer,” he said. “It’s great to see some younger people taking this on, and that’s as it should be.”

Rosino said she had explored getting a horse-driven sleigh for Santa, but the time was too short.

“That’s one of those things for next year,” she said, smiling. “When it comes to livestock, it requires planning far in advance, I’ve learned.”

One consideration the committee addressed is safety, because the parade will take place after dark. They asked that residents in the area who may be coming home from work to be aware of the parade and that there will be children who are participating who will be arriving and lining up. Parking is allowed in the portion of the town hall lot that is not under construction and along side streets, “but on the narrower streets, people should only park on one side. The first car to park should determine which side. Our fire chief, [Michael Lanning] made it clear, the street needs to remain passable for a fire truck in case of an emergency.”

The grassy area near town hall is also available, as are two lots across the street at the Transportation Museum. Food vendors are charging for things to eat, but parking and the event itself is free.