WAKE FOREST, N.C. — For the first time since the mid-1940s, Wake Forest won't have a Christmas parade this year.
Town officials announced Wednesday night that the parade was canceled "over concerns about public safety."
"We did not want to cancel the parade," Mayor Vivian Jones said Thursday.
The Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy was to be part of the parade this year, and Jones said that whipped up talk of protests and counter-protests online and in the media.
"It was just a logistical nightmare," the mayor said, noting one group planned to bring about 200 people.
"There have been people on both sides of the issue who have created a problem," she said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video below aired on November 27, 2019.
