On Saturday, April 3, 2021, the day before Easter, you are invited to a day of fun! Come out to Dillsboro and bring your finest Easter bonnet to the famous Easter Hat Parade! Dress up the smiles on everyone’s face by joining in and walking in the parade. New this year, in keeping with the times and the pandemic you should plan to wear a mask. And if you do not participate in the parade, you can simply do as hundreds of others do—come to Dillsboro at 2pm and bring your finest girl, your family, and your dog to watch the array of folks strolling “down the avenue” in their finery!
Registration for the parade starts at 11am. Brenda Anders, coordinator for the event for the last 30 years, has taken the joy of Easter just a little further. “The first couple of years the number of participants in the parade were less than 24,” she says, “but the event has grown, until we have had over 200 hat contest entries in our parades through the years. The prizes for our hat contest are simple and mostly handmade. The categories are ever changing but include the largest, smallest, most outrageous, best use of fresh flowers, hat that traveled the farthest, youngest and, of course, best dog! So come and join in our Easter Hat contest!”
Brenda continues to add other fun activities. The Easter Bunny will be there for photos. The parade is always the Saturday before Easter and begins from the town hall at 2pm. The town of Dillsboro is only 2 long blocks so the parade doesn’t last a long time. Of course, there is plenty of other things to do while waiting for the parade…visit some of the stores and have lunch. Piles of eggs will be displayed which have been colored with many different techniques—eggs wrapped in onion peels, dyed with different herbs, oil and water, as well as the traditional egg color. You can spend time simply looking at the different, unique hats! Small prizes will be available for small children.So come on out on April 3, and spend the day the Easter Bunny, have lunch at one of our many restaurants for a fun day planned for children and adults alike in the
historic town of Dillsboro!
For more information, call 828-506-8331, or go to the website visitdillsboro.com.
