On Sunday, December 7th, the town of Bel Air held what’s been a proud tradition for nearly four decades—the annual Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting! For the first time in over five years, Patient First was a part of it, roaring out of the gate as the event’s title sponsor.
Our participation was a little different from what we’ve traditionally done at holiday events. Since there was no vendor area per se, we were offered the opportunity to operate our table in conjunction with the handing out of cookies provided by the Woodlea Bakery. That pretty much ensured that every single person that gathered in Shamrock Park came to visit us at our table!
The parade itself was an amazing display of community, with four different high school bands, numerous local small businesses, and dance troupes winding through streets of Bel Air for more than a mile. The parade ran for nearly an hour, before coming to a close at Shamrock Park, where a community band entertained several hundred people, who later participated in a huge bonfire, ultimately culminating in the lighting of the giant tree.
This was a very local event; everyone we spoke with had visited our Bel Air center, with a few exceptions having been patients at either our Aberdeen or Perry Hall center. We did receive a visit from some people from Romania, but I told them we hadn’t expanded quite that far yet.
As the title sponsor, our banner led the parade, and we were thanked repeatedly by the town commissioners on the PA, and on radio ads in the days leading up to the parade. We certainly look forward to returning next year!
