Houston, Peach cities prepping for Dec. 5 Christmas parades

If you're a fan of Christmas parades, mark your calendar for Dec. 5, when a bevy of the time-honored spectacles will fill the streets in Houston and Peach counties.

About 130 floats will cruise down Watson Boulevard for the 58th annual Robins Regional Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade in Warner Robins. Parades also are lined up for Byron, Perry, Fort Valley and Centerville.

The Warner Robins parade starts at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Houston Road and Watson Boulevard and will travel east before turning south on Davis Drive and ending at McConnell-Talbert Stadium, according to a news release from the chamber.

This year's theme is "Christmas at the Movies." The parade units will be judged by a group of business and community members and awards will be given, according to the release.

The grand marshal leading this year's parade will be Jonathan Clark of the Warner Robins Fire Department, who was recognized this year by the Georgia State Firefighters Association as Rookie of the Year.

At 1 p.m., the parade in Byron gets rolling. "The Sweet Story of Christmas," a candy-themed parade, begins on White Road and Linda Drive to Ga. 49 then over the Ga. 42 bridge onto Moseley Road and up Main Street back to the Byron Elementary School, according to the city's website. There will be cash prizes for the top three floats.

Perry's "Main Street Christmas Parade" is set to start at 4 p.m. in downtown. Fort Valley's parade is at 5 p.m., and Centerville wraps up the day with its parade at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Houston, Peach cities prepping for Dec. 5 Christmas parades ."