BATON ROUGE — Holiday parades have long been a staple of life in Baton Rouge, bringing families together to celebrate community and seasonal traditions. But those traditions are facing new challenges after the cancellation of a major Christmas parade this year, raising concerns about the future of similar events within city limits.
The Cortana Kiwanis Christmas Parade was canceled after organizers cited rising security costs, following a shooting during last year’s event that left one person injured. The incident prompted the Kiwanis Club to reevaluate safety measures, ultimately determining the increased expense was too much to bear.
City leaders said higher security costs from the Baton Rouge Police are making it harder for organizers to afford large-scale events, a challenge that could affect other parades moving forward…