East Spencer parade to celebrate incorporation

EAST SPENCER — East Spencer is celebrating its birthday in grand style this weekend.
According to East Spencer Parks and Recreation Supervisor Johnny Jones the town is hosting a parade to commemorate the occasion of its 125th anniversary of incorporation.
Saturday’s parade is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the East Spencer Town Hall building at 105 S. Long St. and end at the Dunbar Center.
While the parade also coincides with the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, Jones said the event was largely inspired by the town itself.
“We celebrate it, but it’s not something that we piggybacked off of,” Jones said.
Saturday’s parade will take cues from a biennial parade hosted by the alumni of Dunbar High School.
“It’s a historic school,” Jones said.
The Dunbar School was an African American school that served the East Spencer community. The alumni group is known for granting scholarships to students seeking higher education. It’s known as the Heritage Scholarship, which is now in its 20th year.
Dunbar’s parade was an inspiration for Saturday’s parade.
“That’s one of the ways they celebrated, so we just adopted that, as well as incorporated people from the Dunbar Alumni Association as well.”
Every two years, the school holds a parade as part of their alumni celebration. This year’s parade coincides with the school’s alumni celebration.
Saturday’s parade will be the first town-organized parade.
“If we can get anywhere between 100 and 200 people, I think that would be a plus for the town,” Jones said.
Jones said officials wanted to do more events to highlight the city and its people. The parade will feature groups and individuals from within East Spencer and the surrounding Rowan County community, including at least one group from Winston-Salem.
The window for participants to sign up closed only two weeks before the event. This gives Jones and his staff a limited time to organize and execute the parade.
“I try to start at least two and a half months in advance,” Jones said, adding that there are other considerations when organizing a parade.
“We have luxury cars that, if they are in the sun for too long or going too slow, they may overheat their engines,” Jones said.
Parade-goers can expect a number of things.
“There are local churches that are participating,” Jones said. “We have North Rowan and Salisbury High School participating.”
Jones said Saturday’s parade is the first of a series planned for the rest of the year. Jones said that officials want to do more seasonal events.
“It will be based more on the holidays,” Jones said. “It will be more seasonal than annual.”
John said he is glad to see the town get more engaged.
“I enjoy them, especially when it’s something that we are giving back to the residents,” Jones said. “I think it also bridges the gap between Spencer and Salisbury.”