Candy Cane Lane parade is tonight despite near-record COVID-19 deaths in Tulare County
Healthcare workers will be honored at this year's kick-off of the holiday season as the county reports a near-record COVID-19 monthly death total.
After canceling last year for the first time in its 75-year history, Visalia's Candy Cane Lane Parade will return today to kick off the holiday season.
Frontline healthcare workers will serve as this year's Grand Marshal, Mayor Steve Nelsen announced. Downtown Visalians, the parade's host, partnered with Kaweah Health and Family Health Care Network to bring local doctors and nurses to lead the route.
This year, the parade will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run from Tipton Street to the east to Conyer Street to the west. Because there was no parade last year, city officials are expecting huge crowds.
The event typically brings about 30,000 people to downtown Visalia.
The forecast for Monday evening is clear and cool, with nighttime temperatures dipping into the low to mid-40s, so it would be advisable to bundle up for the cold weather. Temperatures during parade hours are expected to be the low 50s to high 40s.
The parade has about 75 entrants, a downturn from previous years, even after three deadline extensions, Nelsen said.
Unvaccinated individuals are asked to wear a face-covering but the safety guideline won't be enforced, Nelsen said.
"It's too big of an event to police anything. We just hope people do the right thing, come out and enjoy the parade," he said. "We want everybody to be safe."
The parade comes as the Tulare County Health and Human Service Agency reported one of the deadliest weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in March 2020 with 39 new COVID-19-related deaths for the week ending on Nov. 24.
November's 103-person COVID-19 related death toll marks the third-highest month in fatalities since the pandemic started in March 2020. During the height of the deadly winter surge, monthly death tolls were 192 in January and 163 in February.
Since August, the county's weekly COVID-19 death toll had hovered around 20, making the last week’s 39 one of the highest reported totals for any week of the pandemic.
As in previous years, attendees are asked not to place chairs or reserve seating until after street closures take effect at 3:30 p.m. on the day of the parade.