ROANOKE, Va. – Friday the 13th turned out to be bad luck for the Dickens of a Christmas parade, but that did not stop holiday cheer from coming to Roanoke.
Organizers canceled the parade because of rainy weather but decided to continue with the other festivities. Instead of seeing floats, visitors saw Santa and had the opportunity to ride a miniature train or get a balloon animal.
“The kids really loved the balloons,” said Owen Fahy, who drove with his wife and kids from Lynchburg to experience the event. “The balloon guy is really good and the kids enjoyed it.”
However, the smaller crowds made Friday a less than enjoyable experience for some vendors such as Joe Sweeney.
“I didn’t know the parade was canceled until I got down here, so that was kind of disappointing,” Sweeney said.
Sweeney sells ornaments every year to help his club at Roanoke Catholic School make an annual trip to a national park. Sweeney says every sale is crucial because this is his biggest fundraiser for the club.
“For someone like me, I’m kind of dependent on the Dickens crowd as a fundraiser to produce enough income to get through the year,” Sweeney said.
Although rain washed out a portion of the Dickens festivities this week, Sweeney is optimistic the rain will clear up for the last Dickens of a Christmas day next Friday.
“Dickens usually has one night of not-so-good weather, and that’s expected," Sweeney said. "Next week will probably be a lot better.”