Ocean Springs 4th annual Discover Christmas Parade serves as toy drive

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - Ocean Springs is kicking off the Christmas season with their annual Discover Christmas Parade with a huge turnout compared to last year.

“Each year it gets bigger and bigger,” said Greg Gipson. “The word is getting around and is on a Sunday and it’s a family-oriented event, and so once people get through with church, they come out to the parade which is really nice for the community.”

Greg Gipson is the co-founder of the parade. He says this wouldn’t have happened until the Ocean Springs Carnival Association, Krewe Unique and Elks partnered up and made an interesting discovery.

“We were the city along the Mississippi Gulf Coast that didn’t have a Christmas parade and then said what a way to start something that was different and unique from another city.”

This parade isn’t just unique because it’s fairly new. It’s unique because it also serves as a toy drive -- a way to help out families who are struggling during the holiday season.

“What we do is turn and give to the needy families in Ocean Springs,” said Gipson. “But of course, as you know with the economic uptick, families cannot afford toys and groceries at the same time, but this is a way all three organizations can give back to the community.”

The effort couldn’t be done without some help from the organizations and Ocean Springs Lumber.

“One thing that we also look at is One Coast. So, we all support each other along the Mississippi gulf coast so we’re all out here doing it together. One organization cannot do it alone,” said Gipson. “I want to thank Ocean Springs Lumber for being the host. Every year they show support for all these organizations to make this thing happen because without them this would not be possible.”

If you would like to donate any toys, you can drop them off at Ocean Springs Elks Lodge, Ocean Springs Lumber or Macedonia Baptist Church.

Want more WLOX news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2022 WLOX. All rights reserved.