Karen Taylor Squires

The 2023 Christmas parade and fireworks are now memories and pictures shared on social media. The day’s memories will last much longer than the 35-float parade. But for the Town of Coushatta, the sense of family and togetherness cannot be erased from anyone’s mind. The Chamber has much to be proud of for this festival each year.

With over a dozen vendors and shops on Front Street, the day’s activities began at 2:00 on December 7. The Town and The Coushatta-Red River Chamber of Commerce cleaned and decorated the streets. Mr. Peter Drake began getting Front street Ben Jones’ company put up and decorated the tree. Red River High School art students created festive paintings on the LP Stephen’s store windows. Chamber members and Red River Parish School Board employees chipped in to install barricades and decorate the Grandstand. The stage was set for a terrific day.

Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office took charge of all of the safety needs of the day. They coordinated with the Town of Coushatta officers. This event would not be possible without every officer’s expertise and care. This town is blessed.

Another blessing of this town is the Red River Parish School Board and schools. Each year, the school board employees and personnel take time to make this event spectacular for all. Alison Strong, Kelley Lee, J.C. Dickey, Trina Brown, Lauren Hillman, Katie Bethard, Richie Strong, Doyle Bell and all the staff in the building put all of their efforts into this day. The Rudolph Bus was terrific!

Each School in Red River Parish was represented this year in the parade. We had confetti cannons, dancing Mini Rebels, hearts of academy champions, iconic Christmas movies, and Louisiana-style Heart of Christmas, to name a few. A big shout-out goes to the vocational department of Red River High. They built the barricades used on Front Street. This year, more businesses participated than in the last ten years.

A new addition to the parade line-up this year was ADA Carbon Solutions. ADA made a sizeable donation to the Christmas festivities this year. They were chosen as Grand Marshal for the day. The Chamber of Commerce is happy to have the help of this Red River Company.

The Fireworks began at 6:00 on the dot. Pyroman Fireworks 2 has always been ready to give a great show to this town. They once again exceeded our expectations.

For this last parade of my time in the Chamber, I want to personally thank Wendy Simmons and Jeffery Deen for their hard work on the parade. These two shadowed me for several days, learning all the ins and outs of production. My last shout goes to this year’s Santa and Mrs. Claus. I’m a bit biased on these two. They know who they are—much love from mom.