Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College will hold its second annual Light Your Way Christmas Parade in downtown Terre Haute Saturday night. This year, the parade will include a special "sensory-friendly" section at the beginning of its route.
The parade route spans about six blocks of the downtown area, according to the college's director of conferences and events, John Mace. But for the first block, Mace says the parade's 72 participating groups won't be playing music or handing out candy.
That way, Mace says, the audience can enjoy the parade lights without hearing loud noises or interacting with foods they could be allergic to.
"We're really hoping to make it an inclusive event for families," Mace says. "And it's not just for children. I mean, we're basically saying it's sensory-friendly, so it could be anything, you know, anyone."
The idea for a "sensory-friendly" portion of the parade came from Jenn Kersey. Kersey was on the committee that founded the parade last year. She's now the director of advocacy and client affairs at RJL Solutions, the firm helping Saint Mary-of-the-Woods put on the parade.
Kersey has a son who has autism, as well as food allergies.
"It's not a fun situation for him. But yet, I know that he would love to be able to see the floats going by," Kersey says. "And I think that's something we all remember from our childhood."
The parade starts at 6 p.m. Saturday.