Neighborhood news: Dumfries Holiday Parade nears

Preparations are being made for the 35th Annual Dumfries Holiday Parade. This year's parade will be held Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. (rain, snow or shine, unless weather conditions become unsafe). This year's parade theme will be "Celebrate the Season of Giving." The parade route will be from Dumfries Town Hall to Graham Park Road, then on into the Dumfries Shopping Center.

As a reminder to all parade participants, lineup begins at noon. Be sure to send one member of your group to the registration desk to get your position number for the judges. If your unit plans on sharing candy with the parade spectators, we kindly ask that you have members of your group walk alongside your unit and hand the treats to the crowd. This will help prevent children from running into the flow of parade traffic. Our main concern is the safety of our residents.

Prince William Estates

A concerned citizen has asked me to pass the following information along to my readers in hopes that someone will do something about this.

In early November the entrance sign to Prince William Estates began losing its letters. The brick foundation sign has been in existence since 1960, but now the letters are being pulled off almost on a daily basis by vandals who obviously have nothing better to do with their time. Since PWE does not have a homeowners association, and the town of Dumfries is struggling financially, we have a dilemma. Perhaps there are some good samaritans living in PWE who will take it upon themselves to repair or even redesign the entrance sign and make it more presentable than it is at present. I'm sure all of the homeowners living in PWE would greatly appreciate it.

Holiday music

Many of you have been asking me about where you can go to hear great holiday music so here is what I have found.

Tomorrow at 8 p.m. the Woodbridge Community Choir and the Prince William Community Band for Christmas Concerts will perform at Freedom High School, 15201 Neabsco Road, Woodbridge. On Saturday at 8 p.m. the groups will perform at Our Lady of Angels Parish Hall, 13754 Mary's Way in Woodbridge. All events are free.

The NOVA Manassas Symphony Orchestra concert will take place Dec. 19 at 3 p.m., at Grace United Methodist Church. Tickets will be available at the door.

The price is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, and free for all students. Purchasing tickets in advance by logging on to www.manassassymphony .org or by e-mailing tickets @manassassymphony.org.

Cathy Cowger reports your neighborhood news from the Dumfries area every Thursday in the News & Messenger. If you have news about birthdays, your family, your club or your HOA activities, please send it to Cathy at pn@CathyCowger.com.