TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) – This year’s Reed’s Tupelo Christmas Parade is canceled, the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association announced Tuesday.

“We have determined that it was probably best for our community and the surrounding areas,” Debbie Brangenberg, Director of the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association, said.

She said the association made the decision after much thought and consideration of the coronavirus impact in Tupelo.

“We thought that perhaps the numbers were going to get better, but we have three to five thousand people congregated in downtown and participating in the parade, and we just don’t think it’s a wise decision for us to continue as we have done in the past,” Brangenberg said.

Ken Robinson lives in Columbus but works in Tupelo. He enjoys watching the annual Christmas parades in Tupelo. He was sad to hear the news.

“So many people get together to watch the parade. It’s good times, it just brings a lot of happiness. I just feel bad that it’s ending. I feel like this has been a bad year, we’re gonna end the year bad, but we’ll get back on track next year maybe,” Robinson said.

Jack Reed Jr. is president of Reed’s Department Store. Reed’s sponsors the parade. He said the decision to postpone until next year was not an easy one.

“Well we hate to do it, but it was the responsible thing to do this year. The Downtown Association certainly felt like it was the responsible thing to do, and we agreed with them,” Junior said.

Despite the cancellation, Brangenburg said not to worry. the city will still have festivities to celebrate the Christmas season.

“We do have opportunities for families to enjoy the holidays, we just won’t be doing it in traditional ways,” she said.

She explained downtown stores are decking out their window displays this year, and she is encouraging people to drive by and look at them.

Brangenburg ended on a positive note, effectively saying that despite the pandemic, this year will still have a very Merry Christmas.

“Stores downtown are socially-distancing, doing everything properly, so we hope you’ll enjoy the festivities that are going on.”

Brangenberg said people can look forward to the Tupelo High School Madrigals Choir in Fair Park on the 11th, 12th, and 13th of December. In addition to the vast window displays downtown, Brangenberg said people can also vote on their favorites.