Cold rain didn’t dampen the spirits of parade goers in Smithville or Alexandria this past weekend as both annual events stepped off despite the less than ideal conditions.

Smithville took the stage first as the Christmas parade started at promptly 2 p.m. Saturday as a cold rain fell, leaving many of those on floats either under umbrellas or huddle underneath blankets. The parade had already underwent one delay the week before when the threat of storms prompted organizers to put it off until this past week.

Turnout for the parade was impressive in light of the cold and wet conditions with a few hundred people lining both sides of the road as the parade stepped off from Smithville Elementary and made its way downtown.

Covenant Baptist Church took first place in the float division for their entry “Tis Sweet to Trust in Jesus”. Second place went to Cash Express with the theme “While Visions of Sugar Plum Fairies Danced in their Heads”. The undefeated and conference champion DeKalb Middle School Saints Football Team won the Spirit Award presented by the Smithville Business and Professional Women’s Club.

Similar conditions befell the Alexandria parade as a mixed bag of precipitation fell in a mist as about a hundred people lined the streets of the rural hamlet Sunday afternoon. The high school band, which was unable to participate in the postponed Smithville parade, braved the frigid conditions to march a show of Christmas songs.

The exhibitions completed three parades in DeKalb County to celebrate Christmas, the first held last week in Liberty – the only parade this year that had favorable weather.