Bel Air Christmas Celebration Chairman Michael I. Blum has sent along his annual thank you letter to the community for participating in the 34th Bel Air Christmas Parade and Celebration on Dec. 8. Here are the details provided:
TO THE EDITOR:
On behalf of the Town of Bel Air, I want to thank the greater Bel Air community for its amazing support of the 34th Bel Air Christmas Parade and Celebration, held on Sunday, December 8, 2024.
We certainly benefited from some of the most spectacular “winter weather” I’ve ever seen at a Christmas Parade — it was actually warm and sunny with clear skies up to sunset and afterwards! This meant a huge crowd turnout and very happy parade participants, and that’s a good foundation for a wonderful event — which it was!
What was really heart-warming to see was the tremendous SIZE of the crowds that lined the streets of the parade route and that later came to Shamrock Park. The happiness of the spectators of all ages was manifestly apparent. We are lucky to have such citizens turn out— Bel Air is indeed a family-friendly place, and it is events like this that show it. Even though we are every day assaulted by bad news, not only on a global or national level but also sometimes right here at home, it is events like this that “right the ship” and let us understand how much GOOD is out there, and how truly GOOD is our Town and our community.
I must first and foremost thank Chief of Police Charles Moore of the Bel Air Police Department and his hard-working staff, led by Sgt. James Farrell, for their help all day on December 8. Our local police were able to well handle the demands of a huge public event; this proves how professional, reliable and dependable our Bel Air Police Department truly is. We take our safety for granted, sometimes, so it’s appropriate to recognize just WHY we are safe, and by whose hard work that safety is maintained.
The parade includes many different kinds of units, and this year’s parade again included many very elaborate and creative participants. Overall, the Bel Air Christmas Parade is all about KIDS. Hundreds — maybe THOUSANDS of kids participated in it and many more watched it. To see the dedication and good spirits of so many children and their families made me, for one, very, very optimistic about the future of our community and of our nation. And I want to thank their parents and families for supporting these wonderful young people!
Special thanks must go to the many hard-working volunteers who put the entire celebration together, including five National Honor Society member students from Bel Air High School under the leadership of Ms. Regina Burstein, and one student from John Carroll School. Adult volunteers included Annette Blum, Catherine Butrim, Aaron Cahall, Elise Gerard, Matt McDonald, Julia Potler, Angela Robertson, David Williams, Lisa Williams and Stephanie Zahn. Dina Boebel and Angela Robertson decorated the Reviewing Stand, which was provided courtesy of Harford County Parks & Recreation. Our sponsor banners were carried by members of BSA troop 808, Cub Scout Pack 777, and BSA Troop 777.
Sincere and warm thanks also go to the Town of Bel Air Board of Commissioners, led by Paula S. Etting, Chair and Mayor; Steven Chizmar, Vice-Chair; and Commissioners Mary F. Chance, James Rutledge and Jake Taylor — without whose support this event could not occur! I really think that they had a great time walking the parade route, too! Mayor Etting was our M.C. for the Bandshell Celebration afterwards, and I think she truly did the best job at this, that I’ve ever heard!
The Bel Air Christmas Celebration is brought to you by Town of Bel Air, and by the Bel Air Downtown Alliance, Jenny Erhard, Executive Director, and her hard-working staff. Supporting our activities are the Town of Bel Air Administration, led by Town Manager Eddie Hopkins; the Town of Bel Air Economic Development Department, led by Executive Director Angela Robertson and her excellent staff; the Bel Air Police Department, led by Chief of Police Charles Moore and Sergeant James Farrell; the Bel Air Department of Public Works, led by Stephen Kline, Director, and his responsive and dedicated corps, and especially Freddy, James and Ryan.
I also would like thank our major business sponsors for their generous donations, starting with our Premier Sponsor, Jones Junction Auto Dealerships. Other major business sponsors include: APG Federal Credit Union; BCV Commercial Realty; Buontempo Brothers Restaurant; The Corbin Fuel Company; The Harford Financial Group; Harford Mutual Insurance Company; J.E.T Seal Services; Kids First Swim School; Klein’s ShopRite of Harford County; MaGerk’s Pub and Grill; Music Land; Noorani Orthodontics; Safe Harbors Business Travel; Tar Heel Construction Group; and ZIPS Dry Cleaners.
Special thanks also goes to our local high school bands in the parade: Aberdeen High School, Bel Air High School, C. Milton Wright High School, Edgewood High School, Fallston High School, Harford Technical High School, Havre de Grace High School, the John Carroll School, Joppatowne High School, North Harford High School and Patterson Mill High School. I believe we had every high school in the county represented — and wow did they play well!
The parade featured almost one hundred different units. Our independent (and anonymous) Parade Judges named as OVERALL BEST IN PARADE the Snow Plow entered and decorated by the Town Department of Public Works! Great job, fellows! Other winners were Havre de Grace High School for Best Band; Cub Scout Pack 564 for Best Float; Gunpowder Mill Racers for Best “Marching” Unit; Dance With Me School of Dance for Best Mobile Unit; Girl Scouts Service Unit #620 for Best Costumed Characters; and, in a first-ever category, the Mason-Dixon Faith Riders for Best Animal Unit! Notable units also included the 20th CBRNE Color Guard, Helmet Car and Marchers; US Taekwondo Academy; Miss Bel Air Gianna Romero; the Star Wars Costuming Groups of Maryland and Delaware; Sit Mean Sit Dog Training; Michael Rosman’s Circus Camp Stars; Emmorton Recreation Girls Youth Fastpitch Softball; Best Friends Fur Ever; and Restoration Farm (which had real sheep and goats as part of its Nativity Scene). Great job, all!
Kristy Breslin of WMAR-TV was the Master of Ceremonies, excellently narrating the parade from the Reviewing Stand. Jay van Deusen again handled the bonfire in Shamrock Park.
In celebration of the Town’s 150th Anniversary, a beautiful thirty-foot-tall Norway Spruce was planted in Shamrock Park for all to enjoy forever, and turning on its Christmas lights was a highlight of the post-parade celebration there. The tree was sponsored by Ivy Hill Land Services, Stephen & Stacia Kline, Eddie & Cristie Hopkins, The Greater Bel Air Community Foundation, and The Town’s Tree and Appearance & Beautification Committees.
At Shamrock Park, we were once again honored to have members of the Bel Air Community Band playing holiday music, under the baton of conductor and Music Director Richard Hauf, with the help of Assistant Director Daniel Venable. We were also pleased to be joined by the Bel Air Community Chorus, for Christmas Carols, accompanied and conducted by Brittanie Stott, under the artistic direction of Sandra Files.
On a personal note, I want to thank the Town of Bel Air for having the heart and sensitivity to mount such a celebration. The holiday season, whether one celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, or any other holiday, is one of joy, and is the time to celebrate light, life and family, and to give to charity and to the community. There is bad news everywhere — internationally; nationally; locally. For one day, though, we can rejoice in GOOD NEWS. The Bel Air 2024 Christmas Parade was ALL GOOD, and we should all celebrate that! We look forward to the return of light, warmth and positive growth, both physical and spiritual, in the New Year, and we pray for peace for us, for our community, and for all humanity.
Yours most sincerely,
Michael I. Blum
He/Him/His
Chairman, Bel Air Christmas Celebration
