It was announced in October, 2019 that Clay Aiken would be a special guest in the Raleigh, NC Christmas parade.  Since it was the 75th Annual parade, the event was the biggest and best!

ABC11 posted:

Are you ready for the holiday season? Because we are! Whether you’re in downtown Raleigh or watching on your couch, the 75th Raleigh Christmas Parade is the place to be on Saturday, November 23. The weekend before Thanksgiving, it’s the biggest party of the year to kick off the holiday shopping season.

9 a.m. – Live TV coverage starts on ABC11:
Raleigh Diamond 75th Parade Celebration – Hosted by Clay Aiken and Amber Rupinta

The event on November 23 lasts all day.  After the parade, there will be a post-parade party at Christmas Village.  In the evening, the Raleigh Tree Lighting will take place.  According to ABC11, there will be live music & family fun.  

When I heard about this event, I remembered that Clay was the Grand Marshall of this parade back in November – 2003.  It was fun to find an old mention of the parade on WRAL.

Santa got big cheers, but the loudest ovation of the day came for Raleigh’s Idol Clay Aiken. Grand marshal of the 59th Annual Raleigh Christmas Parade, Aiken drew a crowd of 100,000, over double the usual attendance rate. Fans began lining the streets the night before and had packed both sides of the parade route by 8:30am for the 10am start.

Yes…that sounds like Clay.

I was able to find a few pictures of the 2003 parade…I even found a short video.

I hope you enjoy the following video!

Have a great week-end!