WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Waukesha Christmas Parade is set to return this Sunday, bringing together 80 businesses and community groups for a celebration that honors both holiday joy and the memory of those lost in the 2021 tragedy.
Watch: Community groups prepare for the Waukesha Christmas Parade
The parade will begin at 4 p.m. in downtown Waukesha, marking the fourth year since a man drove through the celebration, killing six people and injuring 62 others. In light of the tragedy, community members say they're committed to showing up for each other in times of both hardship and celebration.
"It's very nice that we're still able to do this safely this year, and that all these other companies are coming together to do this is really uplifting for the holiday spirit," said Madison Maassen, marketing coordinator for SERVPRO.
Maassen designed a float for SERVPRO, a company that helps people rebuild from water and fire disasters. The business was part of helping community members recover from historic floods earlier this year.
"We just want to be there to help and make sure that the community knows that we are here to help," Maassen said.
Among the new participants is Bereaved Together, a nonprofit joining the parade for the first time. Founder Lisa Price started the organization after losing her baby girl, Ari, in 2017. Ari was diagnosed in utero with a chromosomal disorder and survived only nine hours after being born.
Through her organization, Price supports other mothers grieving from child loss by holding wellness gatherings, soul-nourishing workshops, and a faith-rooted healing community offering life beyond loss.
"Grief is definitely grief for everybody. It could be the loss of a child, it could be the loss of a grandparent, but everybody at the holidays, for the most part, is probably carrying some sort of 'and' right, some sorrow and some happiness, some sadness and some joy, and so we're just making space for the 'and'," Price said.
Price and a large group of women will walk the entire parade route carrying candles and pictures of their children, honoring their loss while walking for the families impacted by the 2021 parade attack.
"You don't have to shelve your grief in order to, you know, be a human that's part of the human experience," Price said.
For Price, the parade represents what community means.
"It is about our community. And so I'm excited. I'm honored. It's a privilege for me to do this work," she said.
Maassen echoed that sentiment about the power of community gathering.
"I'm mainly excited to just see the community and see the Waukesha Christmas parade come to life and be a part of that is really, it's an honor," she said.
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