Manti City going ahead with
lighting parade after all
By Suzanne Dean
Publisher
11-18-2020
MANTI—The Manti City light parade, the traditional kickoff of the holidays in the town, was all but cancelled and then reinstated last week.
The emergency order issued by Gov. Gary Herbert on Sunday, Nov. 9 regarding the coronavirus is supposed to run until next Saturday Nov. 21. The parade isn’t until Friday, Nov. 27.
But City Manager Kent Barton said the committee was worried about advertising the event and then needing to cancel it if the governor’s order was extended beyond Saturday.
Committee leaders learned Gunnison had cancelled its parade, although Ephraim was going ahead with its celebration.
“We decided it might be better not to go ahead,” Barton said.
Then the city started getting input from residents saying breaking with such a long-running tradition would be unfortunate.
Barton checked with legal counsel and decided to hold a special Zoom meeting Thursday, Nov. 12 to poll the city council.
The council decided “short of something different coming down from the state” to go ahead with the parade.
The parade theme is “Peace on Earth.” Residents are invited to decorate trucks, trailers and RVs with lights and line up on 300 South to the side of the red church.
The parade starts at 6 p.m. It will travel down Main Street to 500 North, where it will turn west next to the fairgrounds and disband.
Residents can parallel park on Main Street and sit in the cars to watch. Or they can stand on the street. But if they do, family groups should keep a safe distance from other groups, Barton said.
Because of coronavirus concerns, there will be no gathering at Manti High School after the parade like there has been in past years.
But Santa will be staked out in the bus circle in front of the high school. Families can drive by and greet Santa, and children can drop off letters containing Christmas wishes. If you leave a stamped, self-addressed envelope, your youngsters will receive a reply.
If you have questions about participating in the parade, call the committee chairwoman, Karen Soper, at (801) 295-0956.
