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Greater Raleigh Merchants Association Announces 65th Annual Raleigh Christmas Parade
November 17, 2009 1:50 PM | Posted By: Sarah Styron
GREATER RALEIGH MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES
65th ANNUAL RALEIGH CHRISTMAS PARADE
WRAL-TV and Other Supporters Contribute to a Growing Tradition
RALEIGH, N.C. (Nov. 17, 2009) – The Greater Raleigh Merchants Association (GRMA) announces the 65th Annual Raleigh Christmas parade to be held on Nov. 21 at 9:30 a.m. in downtown Raleigh. WRAL-TV is the Title Sponsor and Official Media Partner for the fifth year in a row. Live televised coverage will begin at 10 a.m. when the first parade unit reaches the television anchor location.
Other key sponsors are Crabtree Valley Mall, Time Warner Cable and WakeMed. The parade has been presented every year since 1944 by the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association.
“The Raleigh Christmas Parade continues to be a huge success and has become a holiday tradition for our state,” said John Odom, chairman of GRMA. “It just keeps growing and getting better every year. We owe it to WRAL-TV, Crabtree Valley Mall, Time Warner Cable and WakeMed for their generous support of this event.”
This year the parade will feature a special entry from Shop Local Raleigh, a coalition of local independent businesses, non-profits and concerned citizens uniting to support local entrepreneurs.
“The timing couldn’t be better for everyone who cares about sustaining a strong, diverse base of local independent businesses and expanding economic opportunity here in the Triangle,” said Odom. “With Shop Local Raleigh’s presence in the parade, we’ll be reminding people to shop local for the holidays.”
The Raleigh Christmas Parade will feature three giant helium balloons, approximately 35 floats, 20 marching bands and a number of other entertaining acts.
Drawing an estimated 50,000 spectators from across the state to downtown Raleigh and reaching more than 250,000 through television and live video streaming on WRAL.com, the parade is the largest single-day event in Raleigh each year. It is the largest parade between Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
The official parade route will begin at the intersection of Hillsborough Street and St. Mary’s Street starting at 9:30 a.m. Live television coverage begins at 10 a.m. The parade will process down Fayetteville Street and conclude at the intersection of Fayetteville and Lenoir streets. A downloadable map can be viewed at http://www.grma.org/assets/file/2009_GRMA%20MAP.pdf.
About GRMA
The Greater Raleigh Merchants Association promotes the growth and sustainability of local businesses. For more information, visit www.grma.org.
Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. is a diversified communications company which owns and/or operates WRAL-TV, WRAL Digital, WRAL-FM, WRAL-HD2, WCMC-FM, Microspace, CBC New Media Group and Wolfpack Sports Marketing in Raleigh, NC; WJZY-TV and WMYT-TV in Charlotte, NC; WILM-TV and Sunrise Broadcasting in Wilmington, NC; WRAZ-TV and The Durham Bulls in Durham, NC; and real estate interests including the American Tobacco Project and Diamond View office buildings in Durham, NC.