Black Mountain Christmas Parade postponed

Citing forecasts that call for snow to begin falling early Saturday morning, the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce announced on Friday morning that the annual Christmas Parade scheduled for 4 p.m. on Dec. 8 would be postponed. 

Holly Jolly, the annual holiday celebration in downtown Black Mountain, will go on as scheduled from 5 - 8 p.m. tonight. 

The Christmas Parade will be moved to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, according to Bob McMurray, executive director of the chamber. 

"We've been monitoring the weather conditions and it now appears that snow could will be moving in earlier on Saturday," McMurray said. "We talked to town personnel, the fire department and others, and we figured it was best to call off the parade this week."

McMurray is now looking at the following weekend. 

"We have set Dec. 15 as the date right now, but the weather doesn't look great that weekend at this time," he said. "We'll keep an eye on everything this week."

Holly Jolly, which features extended hours for merchants in the central business district, a visit from Santa and performances by the Owen High School Marching Band, dance team and others, will take place at its normal time. 

"Everything should be fine for Holly Jolly," McMurray said. "We encourage everyone to come on out and celebrate the holidays before the snow comes in."