There will be no Christmas parade in Amelia this year, because of an ongoing controversy surrounding the parade's name.
For the past 28 years, Amelia has held a Christmas parade on Ohio Pike sponsored by local businesses but the name was going to change to a "Holiday Parade" this year if the village sponsored it. The change was made to avoid legal action for violating separation of church and state.
But that change has prompted an outcry from residents. Elaine Dietrich is the parade's founder: "We will not participate. We will demonstrate and that bothers me. If they do go ahead with the parade, there may be demonstrators up and down the (route) and that's not a Christmas parade."
Leroy Ellington is Amelia's mayor "The children and citizens of the village of Amelia have cherished this parade, Clermont-County wide this has been something that people look forward to year after year and it's just a shame that it's not going to be able to be held."
The parade faces another roadblock. Unless the parade can stretch into Pierce Township, there is no place for all the floats to park when it's over. Pierce Township says it does not have the authority to close Ohio Pike.
