Alamogordo’s Christmas Parade Saved How to Participate and Political Leader Reactions

The Alamogordo Center of Commerce Board of Directors met in special emergency session on Wednesday at 8 am to discuss reviving the Alamogordo Christmas Parade, after the fallout and public outcry from the controversial decision announced on Monday that they were canceling the traditional Alamogordo Christmas Parade for 2023.

And the winner is a knock out of the Grinch. The Spirit of Christmas prevails with the miracle of 10th Street. The Parade is a go Saturday December 9th at 6 pm on 10th Street to New York Avenue.

How the drama began.

An email went out to membership and members of the press on Monday at 4 pm explaining that with heartbreak the decision was made to cancel the parade due to spiraling insurance costs for the event and due to issues around litigation as a result of an accident resulting in the injury of a child at last years event. 

The announcement brought a rash of negative commentary via social media. AlamogordoTownNews.com and KALH Radio covered the story which resulted in over 15,700 downloads and a plethora of comments condemning the action of canceling the holiday tradition.

Readers and listeners commented that the Alamogordo Christmas parade was the “most cherished”  and “most important parade of all the yearly parades”  to the community.

Hundreds of comments were made, with multiple contacts made with the leaders of the Center of Commerce and government leadership concerning this cancellation. 

Concerns were not only the cancellation, but the latent decision, as many floats were already under construction, community members have been planning for this event and it was a huge let down with what some perceived as a lack of sensitivity in how the cancellation was handled. 

The outcry continued into Tuesday, with community leaders feeling the pressure. A group of caring and sensitive small business community leaders as a group stepped up and agreed to fund the project.

The Alamogordo Center of Commerce on its own, could not absorb the spiraling cost of approximately $8000.00 for the insurance for this event. Few businesses in Alamogordo could afford to fork out $8,000 for special event insurance for a one day few hour event. 

The group of small businesses agreed to chip in and the Alamogordo Center of Commerce Tuesday afternoon announced they would convene a special meeting on Wednesday to consider the proposal. The board met Wednesday at 8 am. After some dialog and a review with counsel it was agreed the cancellation would be rescinded and the parade will go forward. The following letter was released to membership.

The parade will go on! 

It’s been a roller coaster ride by those interested in the tradition of the Alamogordo Christmas Parade. Alamogordo Mayor Susan Payne went on the air with our KRAZY KALH Radio broadcaster Anthony Lucero and provided the following commentary which can be heard in the link below…

https://youtu.be/evsdMv7rNWw?si=1h9wl_wTAHTuVvnE

In addition Mayor Susan Payne provided us the following written statement: ”I was incredibly disappointed when I heard the parade had to be cancelled. THANK YOU to all those that understood that this was not something that anyone either at the Center of Commerce or the City of Alamogordo wanted but ultimately our job is to protect the taxpayers. These decisions are never made lightly and it is particularly difficult when it is such a treasured event such as this. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster the past few days but not surprising to me, our business community came through to ensure this tradition continued. I’m thrilled to see that the parade is back on as it is one of those special events that brings our community together during the most giving time of the year. I hope all our citizens will come out support all of the Christmas celebrations in our amazing community and I pray an abundance of blessings on each and every one of them as we celebrate the birth of Jesus during this holiday season.”

Alamogordo City Commissioner District 5, Sharon McDonald also provided us her thoughts that she was pleased that small businesses and the community rallied together and collaborated for a solution as “it is always nice when tradition continues especially during the holiday season.”

We reached out to the leadership of the Center of Commerce for comment

One major need is volunteers in order to ensure safety of this event. As a night time event, traffic control and support is critical, and requires an army of volunteers.

There is a link to sign up below. One of the concerns from the insurance company is will the event have an adequate number of volunteers to ensure a safe event.

With the outcry that occurred, the business community stepped up to fund the event, now community volunteers are needed. 

To volunteer sign up at: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showRSVPSignUp/10C0B4DA8AB2DA4F4C52-46454…

We also asked to speak with leadership concerning the event and we were routed to the parade chairwoman for comment on how folks may register a float. It is now important that lots of floats and participants join the parade!

Click on the link below to hear from parade chairwoman Sue Danekas how you may register a float or for more information…

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2dr0NFhL7JBpdVk5GxPi4m?si=dqpuwaEHSjK2…

For more information visit or call Sue Sue Danekas, 2420 North White Sands Alamogordo, NM 88310 (575) 434-6770
or drop by the Center of Commerce at 1301 N. White Sands Blvd. Alamogordo, NM 88310 or call their offices at (575) 437-6120

A post from the center of Commerce reads…

“Thanks to the generosity of local businesses The Christmas Parade is back on BUT we will need the entire community to activate to make this happen. The Christmas Parade is on December 9th, so we don't have much time. Please don't wait to sign up. The deadline to register is December 6th.

We need Parade marshals and lineup volunteers to ensure our beloved Christmas Parade is a success. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4DA8AB2DA4F4C52-46454432-christmas

We also need FLOATS> LOTS of FLOATS. The Theme is Cowboy Christmas.

Please go by Casa Y Tierra Abstract & Title to sign up! 9 am to 5 pm daily

OR go by the Center of Commerce on Dec 4th, 5th, or 6th (9am to 5pm)

A MANDATORY training is required on Dec 8th at 5 pm OR Dec 9th at 10:00 am. These trainings will be held at the Center of Commerce.

Please note that when you sign up: the Driver MUST be the owner of the vehicle. A notary will be available at both Casa Y Tierra Abstract & Title and at the Center of Commerce.

LET'S MAKE THIS THE BEST CHRISTMAS PARADE EVER! GOD BLESS ALAMOGORDO AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

Let’s volunteer, build floats and make this the greatest Christmas Parade ever for Alamogordo. Let’s together show the spirit of unity the season is about. At KALH Radio and AlamogordoTownNews.com will be there to celebrate with you and let’s have a safe and memorable Christmas Season. 

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