APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The largest nighttime Christmas parade in the Midwest may not happen this year, and that’s concerning to downtown Appleton Businesses.
It could be a season without marching bands, and a year without dozens of decked out floats and thousands of people lining the streets and the storefronts in downtown Appleton.
“We definitely have a big crowd. We have people that reserve our window seats up there to watch the parade, ‘cause it gets a little cool those nights,” manager of Brewed Awakenings manager Tara Thompson said. “Business being slower, that will affect us.”
Crystal Schalliol, owner of the Crazy Sweet candy store in Appleton, says the annual parade would be great for business.
“It would be very, very impactful to us to be able to have those people come out, because then they can kind of see what the shop is about, and also what the other small businesses downtown are about,” she said.
Shalliol’s family looks forward to the downtown Appleton Christmas parade every year.
“We always come down and watch the parade,” she said. “It kind of is that official kick-off to the holiday season for us.”
This year was supposed extra sweet for her, as the new owner of the Crazy Sweet on College Ave.
“We were very excited to be able to kinda have our part in being that family memory-maker for the city of Appleton,” Schalliol said.
During the Christmas parade, previous owners would hand out free samples of their hot chocolate.
Under new ownership, the shop will move up the street, closer to where the parade starts – a prime location.
There hasn’t been any official word on whether or not the Appleton Christmas Parade will go on this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but several other area parades have canceled, including in Green Bay, Oshkosh, and Manitowoc.
Whether the parade happens this year or not, the show, at least at Crazy Sweet, will go on.
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