SPRINGDALE — An attendee of an Arkansas Christmas parade who turned her back on a float featuring a Confederate soldier is criticizing the decision to include it in the event, calling the holiday gathering the "wrong place and the wrong time" for the display.
Gachuzo-Colin called Saturday's Christmas Parade of the Ozarks the "best parade ever" until she "looked to the left and saw the Confederate flag." The float featured a tent and a man dressed in Confederate uniform.
"It was supposed to be a Christmas parade," Gachuzo-Colin said. "Everything that goes along with Christmas was supposed to be celebrated. It was completely the wrong place and the wrong time to celebrate your 'heritage.'"
Members of local Sons of the Confederate Veterans group declined comment Monday. Attempts to contact representatives at the state and national levels by phone and email messages were unsuccessful.
The Rodeo of the Ozarks sponsored the annual parade, said Rick Culver, executive director of the rodeo and the Benevolent Amusement Association. The float was one of 70 entries by local groups.
Groups can register in advance or simply show up on the day of the parade, Culver said. They register with parade volunteers if they want to be considered in judging, he said.
There's never been a vetting process for determining who could participate in the parade, said Sach Oliver, a member of the rodeo's board of directors.
"We've never needed one," he said.
The 12 rodeo board members haven't yet met to discuss what happened and determine how they will move forward, Oliver said.
"We want to provide happy, positive experiences to help families enjoy the season," he said. "That anything happened in the parade that was negative, or hurt anybody's feelings, we are sorry."
The man on the float said nothing inappropriate, Gachuzo-Colin said. She reported hearing a member of the crowd ask if he was looking for slaves. She said the man on the float replied, "No. But we're looking for Yankees."
Sons of Confederate Veterans is a "historical, patriotic and non-political organization dedicated to ensuring that a true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved," according to the group's website.
Oliver said if the Sons of the Confederate Veterans had been refused entry in the parade, the group might have protested.
"We could have run into Constitutional issues regarding freedom of speech. I'm a lawyer, and I said we might have to hire a lawyer," said Oliver, a partner in the Bailey and Oliver Law Firm.