One thing is certain.

Folks think the Mocksville Christmas Parade is held too early.

Mocksville Town Board members wrestled with the idea of changing the parade date at their January meeting, although the parade is a function of the Davie Chamber of Commerce. It has been held in recent years the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the day after the popular bed races are held in Downtown Mocksville.

“People just say it’s too early,” said board member Brian Williams.

“That’s a consistent complaint,” said board member Amy Vaughan-Jones. She said it is a “Mocksville parade” but the chamber dictates when it will happen. “They’re (chamber) very unwilling to move it.”

Town Manager Marcus Abernethy agreed that most people want the parade in December, but the change was started to give downtown merchants a head start on the Christmas shopping season.

Chamber officials, he said, think moving the parade to December could harm downtown businesses. It’s also harder to get the multitude of volunteers needed to make the parade run smoothly, they said.

Board member Brent Ward said to leave the bed race the Friday before Thanksgiving, and move the parade to the first Saturday in December, the traditional date.

Tami Langdon, community development coordinator, said the parade was ran for years by the Jaycees, and was taken over by the chamber when that civic group disbanded. Downtown merchants in the past held an open house the Saturday before Thanksgiving in hopes of increasing Christmas sales.

She suggested the town work with the chamber and arts council for maybe a three-way cooperative to manage the parade. The bed race takes a lot of time and hours of work, and the town doesn’t have the manpower to handle the parade.

Vaughan-Jones said maybe a civic group would like to take up the challenge.

Board member Eric Southern and Abernethy said they like the cooperative idea.

“Everybody wants it in December,” said board member Brent Ward. He made a motion to move the parade to December, which was passed unanimously.

Abernethy is expected to give a report in February about the possibilities of working with other groups to put on the parade.