GOSHEN, Va. – Big things don’t usually happen in the small town of Goshen, but this town of 350 people may have experienced its biggest event ever Saturday evening: the Greatest Goshen Parade.
“You can talk to the old-timers here, they’ve never had anything like this before," said Goshen mayor Tom McCraw. "People who have lived here all their lives have never seen anything like this.”
The Christmas parade, which spanned nearly the entire length of the town, was not just about spreading holiday cheer; it was designed to raise money for two-year-old Cole Kidd, a Rockbridge County boy dealing with Late Infantile Leukodystrophy, a rare disease which has taken away most of his ability to move.
“It’s really heartfelt, and it’s all about the healing," said Mark Cline, a local artist who organized the Greatest Goshen Parade for Kidd. "These people are here to help this little child, and you can imagine what this is doing for the family.”
Kidd led the parade as Grand Marshal, and the fees the other floats paid to be in the parade went directly to Kidd and his family. Cline says the parade raised more than $8,000 for Kidd. He lost count of how many floats ended up in the parade.
“This is every bit as big of a parade as you’d see in Lexington or Buena Vista," Cline said. In fact, this is bigger.”
McCraw says he’s proud of how his small town showed its big heart by coming together for Kidd.
“That’s what Christmas is all about," McCraw said. "When you see someone in need, help them.”
If you want to donate to help Kidd and his family, you can do so at this link.