Retiring Seymour High School Principal Jim Freund is the parade grand marshal.
SEYMOUR – Santa Claus is coming to town Sunday (Dec. 1) to usher in the 53rd annual Seymour Christmas Parade.
The parade will step off at 2 p.m. from the Seymour Community Center, 20 Pine St.
Dozens of festive floats, marching bands, local Scout and Brownie troops, dance groups, athletic teams, fire trucks, police cars and more will join the march over the Broad Street Bridge, through downtown, make a stop at the reviewing stand at the corner of Main and Bank streets, proceed to Route 67 and disband at French Memorial Park.
A Christmas parade advisory from the Seymour Police Department's Facebook page.
Leading the festivities as this year’s grand marshal is longtime Seymour High School Principal Jim Freund.
Freund was selected for the role by the Seymour Parade and Events Committee.
“The choice of Jim Freund was an easy one for us,” said committee member Harvey Catlin.
Freund is retiring at the end of January after a nearly 40-year career in Seymour and Derby. Choosing him to lead this year’s parade was a nice way to honor him, Catlin said.
“His retirement in January will be a big loss for his staff and, more importantly, for his students,” Catlin said. “His staff and students are fond of him for the same reason — he listens.”
Freund said he was surprised to learn he is this year’s grand marshal.
“It’s an honor to be able to represent the community of Seymour,” he said.
Freund, a New York native who resides in Southbury with his wife Kathleen, is father to three adult children. He is expecting his first grandchild in February. He said his decision to retire after nearly four decades in education is bittersweet, but he already told the superintendent he’ll be available to substitute when needed.
Freund came to Seymour High School in 2004 as assistant principal and was named principal in 2014. Prior to that, he worked in Derby schools, starting his career in education at Derby High School in 1986 as a science teacher and later serving as the district’s technology director.
As the tech guy, Freund said he missed day-to-day contact with students, which is why he left Derby and went for the assistant principal job in Seymour.
The Christmas parade is something Freund and his students have participated in for many years, creating themed floats that are always a hit with parade-goers. Freund drives the SHS float each year, but this year he’ll be signing those duties over to his assistant principal, Paul Lucke.
“We’ve had lots of fun over the years, with the students coming up with the themes for the floats,” Freund said. “We’ve done Trolls, a Frozen theme and various Christmas themes over the years. It’s all about getting the students involved in the community.”
The event is the legacy of the late Hermann Mackenstein, a vocational education teacher at Seymour High School, who organized the first parade in 1971.
