MOULTRIE, Ga. – While holidays themselves are hard to cancel, special events related to holidays are falling victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to concerns over COVID-19, the annual Moultrie Christmas Parade – usually held the second Thursday of December – will not take place this year. This cancellation comes after the City of Moultrie made alterations to another annual downtown holiday spectacular, Lights Lights Thanksgiving Night, spreading it out over the week of Thanksgiving.

Entries for the Christmas Parade, which often number in the 90s, usually start coming in at the end of October, according to Amy Herndon Johnson, Moultrie’s director of Downtown Economic Development. Since the parade and Lights Lights each draw a large crowd, Johnson said that makes social distancing requirements to stop the spread of the coronavirus impossible.

“It’s not what we wanted to do,” she said.

As the name suggests, Lights Lights Thanksgiving Night is when the city first turns on the colorful lights in downtown, lights that are put up over the streets by city workers in mid-October. This year, that will begin on Monday, Nov. 23, as, starting at 6 each night up through Thanksgiving, people can walk around enjoying the scenes and the holiday music. Participating businesses – shops and restaurants – will stay open until 8.

The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is also altered due to the pandemic as major retailers reportedly will not open Thanksgiving night. Black Friday sales are another new tradition that draws large crowds to stores, but places like Home Depot and Walmart are emphasizing online sales and early Black Friday specials.

Locally, Small Business Saturday, which is Nov. 28, is going to be commemorated beginning at 10 a.m. when the stores open their doors.