St. Martinville Kiwanis Club Christmas Parade Cancelled

Another parade in St. Martinville has been cancelled.

The Kiwanis Christmas Parade has been axed due to the high price tag involved to make sure everyone is safe.

You may recall earlier this year the city's Mardi Gras Parade was cancelled due to permit and safety issues.

According to George Choplin Jr., founder of the Christmas Parade, the cost to run the hour-and-a-half long parade is typically between $20,000 and $30,000.

Choplin said the Kiwanis Club did not want to start charging groups to enter floats in the parade, but the price of hiring police officers and lining the road with barricades kept increasing.

"That's $150 per person for policemen. You have 20 to 40 policemen," Choplin said. "You are looking at thousands of dollars there. Now you're looking at eight foot barriers at $20 a barrier."

The good news is that the Kiwanis Club has decided to put the money they would have used on the parade back into the community.

They support programs like "Every Child is a Swimmer", their children's foster Christmas party, and other programs in the community.