Holly Jolly still on, Christmas Parade decision Friday

With snow in the forecast this weekend, Holly Jolly will go on as planned on Friday, Dec. 7. A final decision on the Black Mountain Christmas Parade, which is set for Saturday, Dec. 8, will be made Friday as well.  

The Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, which hosts both events, will continue to monitor the weather ahead of the parade. The event, which runs east to west along State Street from Flat Creek to Cragmont Road, is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday. 

Bob McMurray, executive director of the chamber, anticipates the parade will happen at its regularly scheduled time. 

"We don't know when the snow will start falling," McMurray said. "Saturday evening is what most of the forecasts are saying, so it could be possible to get the parade in before the roads become bad."

McMurray will monitor the weather and make a final decision on Friday, he said. 

"That's our plan," he said. "We should have a good idea of what things will look like by then and that will help us make the best decision."

If the parade is postponed due to weather, McMurray plans to hold it at 4 p.m. the following Saturday, Dec. 15. 

"Of course the weather doesn't look great that weekend as of now, but the plan would be to postpone it a week," he said. 

There are no plans to postpone Holly Jolly, which takes place downtown from 5 - 8 p.m. on Friday. 

"The forecast looks good for Holly Jolly," McMurray said. "It should be a good night for everybody to come out and have a good time."