Biggest Christmas yet comes downtown

    Murphy – This year’s A Very Murphy Christmas festival drew thousands of people of all ages.
    The festival began around 4 p.m. Saturday with musical performances, an ugly sweater contest and a selfie scavenger hunt. The three-hour festival also included a parade, which started at the Valley Village Shopping Center on Andrews Road and traveled through downtown, ending at the L&N Depot.
    About 65 groups, each with a varying number of members, participated in the parade. A half-dozen of those groups walked the route, starting from Murphy Elementary School. More than 70 vehicles – ranging from classic cars and all-terrain vehicles to dirt bikes and even a trash truck – traveled the parade route.
    “I would say there were between 2,000-2,500 people along the whole parade route from beginning to end,” Murphy Police Chief Justin Jacobs said. “There had to be more than 1,500 people in downtown alone.
    “I have worked for MPD for more than 16 years, and that is the most people and Christmas floats that I have ever seen in a daytime or nighttime parade.”
    Parade judges recognized Murphy Electric Power Board as having the best overall float in the parade, while the Rotary Club of Murphy earned runner-up recognition. Murphy Bulldogs youth and high school cheerleaders earned a trophy for Best Holiday Spirit in the parade.
    The festival concluded with singing by the MountainView Church acapella group and a tree-lighting ceremony. Numerous area businesses, organizations and volunteers worked together to produce the event.