Wonders of the Sandhills
We all have things we love about the Sandhills, objects, people or places that make this such a wonderful place to call home. As our Christmas card to you, we invited some of your friends and neighbors to share their wonders of the Sandhills The Christmas Carriage Parade
Photographs By Pat Taylor
The shops on Broad Street are brimming with holiday wares and eager patrons. Christmas trees laden with decorations line the street, punctuated with clusters of people sipping hot drinks and saving spots. From the boutique on the corner, Bing Crosby’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” spills out onto the sidewalk. A small boy bundled up against the crisp air, breathless with anticipation, whispers to another, “Do you think Santa will come?” This is the annual Moore County Driving Club’s Christmas Parade, and Santa most certainly will make an appearance at this beloved Southern Pines tradition. Started 26 years ago, the Christmas Carriage Parade takes place the second Saturday of December and showcases as many as 25 different carriages and drivers — all members of the Moore County Driving Club — as they meander from Young’s Road through Southern Pines. From horses dressed as reindeer to carriages decorated like Christmas boxes, the parade of carriages brings out the best of the Club’s creativity and ingenuity. The drivers don festive costumes as well, competing with one another for the “Best Turned Out” carriage prize and bragging rights for the entire year. “The carriages are unbelievably decorated,” shares Kelly Valdes, who has been driving for more than 35 years and has participated at least seven times in the Carriage Parade. But for the hundreds of kids lining the street, even exquisite carriages — some authentic Victorian era antiques — can’t beat out what is also Valdes’ favorite part. “I take a big bucket of candy in my lap and throw it out to the kids,” she says with a laugh, and then quite earnestly adds, “But we can’t have any kids running out in front of the carriages, so you have to have really good aim!” From the original Stoneybrook Farm on Young’s Road, the Christmas parade of carriages winds its way downtown through Ridge St. onto Connecticut Ave. and down Broad St., where an announcer located near the post office introduces and describes each carriage. From downtown, the parade continues through Pennick Village, where scores of residents wait at their windows to wave at the passing drivers.
Spectators are treated to a wide range of carriages, from small singles to four in hands and even a huge sleigh pulled by a pair of Percheron draft horses that can fit at least 40 people. Last year, a Wounded Warriors family was chosen to ride in the large sleigh along with different key community members. “Santa Claus is usually on the last carriage, and his appearance is always a highlight,” says Dave Frump, president of the Driving Club. Valdes believes, though, it’s the unlucky few who make up the cleanup crew that usually get the most applause. Often those on poop-scoop duty join in the festivities and dress up as elves and clowns, drawing peals of laughter from the crowds with their scooping antics. “The crowd is always really fun and very active,” says Frump. “Everyone is yelling greetings to each other and many are enjoying the long-standing cocktail parties that appear all along the route. Some even slip those in the carriages a warm toddy,” he adds with an encouraging twinkle. Apart from the lavish carriages and striking horses, spectators have been known to enjoy an unusual sight or two as well. One year, Valdes was in a carriage with driver Claire Reid, who was wearing a long fur coat and driving a pair of ponies. Suddenly, a pin holding the carriage to the horses’ harness came out and the carriage just stopped dead in the road with a stunned Valdes still in it holding a huge bucket of candy. Claire Reid, with her flowing fur cape, dismounted and just kept right on down the road behind the horses. “That was one of the most peculiar sights I’d ever seen!” laughs Tom Gallagher, who has been involved with the parade for 15 years and now manages all the logistics of the event. For the Driving Club, the Carriage Parade is the highlight of the season, and along with the annual Christmas dinner the following night, signals the close of the driving season. “The parade is so special because it brings the entire community together: its citizenry, the businesses, and the horse people,” says Gallagher. “There’s no parade like it in our area.” And Gallagher’s premonition for this year? A sure sounding forecast calling for sunshine and record crowds. — Nicole White
PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � December 2011
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