Labor Day Weekend Parade returns to Currie Saturday

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Currie Labor Day Weekend Parade is set to return Saturday, celebrating its 17th year with food, music and community pride.

Parade organizer Ebony McIntyre founded the event in 2009 as a way to bring people together. She said the celebration has grown every year despite Currie’s small population.

“This parade is all about unity, bringing communities together,” McIntyre said.

This year’s parade will follow a new route, returning to its original path along Hansley Simpson Road and Borough Road. McIntyre said the change was made so longtime residents, many of whom are elderly, can enjoy the event from their homes.

“Instead of their families having to dress them up and push them out in wheelchairs, I wanted to bring it right to them so they can sit in the comfort of their home, on their property and enjoy and engage with the community,” she said.

The event will feature vendors offering food including jerk chicken and candy apples, along with ATVs and other units in place of traditional floats. South Carolina attorney Bernard McIntyre will serve as Grand Marshal, and Currie’s parade queen is Judy Ward. DJ Slide, a familiar name at festivals across the region, will provide music throughout the day.

Parking will be available in a field along Borough Road, with overflow at Jamaica’s Inn and a nearby club honoring the late Josephine Sinclair Harrison.

If weather becomes an issue, organizers say updates will be posted on the Currie Labor Day Weekend Parade Facebook page. The rain date is set for Monday, Sept. 1.