Copperas Cove captures first place in Temple Christmas parade

Special to Leader-Press 

After receiving second place two years in a row, the Copperas Cove Five Hills royalty literally popped out of glittered Christmas boxes to capture first place in the 73rd Annual Temple Christmas Parade. 

The theme of this year’s parade was the 12 Days of Christmas. The judging scores are based largely in part on how closely the parade entry adheres to the annual theme. To be as competitive as possible, the titleholders discussed several creative ideas ultimately settling on the plan that captured first place and $650 in prize money from among the 150 entries at this year’s Temple parade.

Preteen Miss Five Hills Kaydence Roberts was elated to capture the top honor having been on the float two years ago when the royalty brought second place honors to the City of Copperas Cove.

“We worked really hard this year and practiced our routine several times to make sure that we had it down,” Roberts said. “I want to also say a big thank you to Mrs. Mary Ann Jack for making our golden rings. They were a huge hit with everyone who cheered loudly when we raised them up during that part of this song.”

With the 12 Days theme, each of the titleholders painted and decorated boxes donated by the Killeen Recycling Center to look like presents. Sitting inside their boxes, the royalty hoisted signs up with the correct items for each day as described in the popular holiday tune. For the golden rings, Jack covered hula-hoops in long metallic fringe that the titleholders popped up with out of their boxes and shook in time with the music. The element added surprise and sparkle that brought claps and cheers from spectators throughout the parade route.   

Junior Miss Five Hills Hayley Sawyer was nervous to perform at first, but worries went away once the float started moving down Temple’s city streets.

“It was amazing to hear your number (in the song) and then hold up your sign and feel like it was your moment,” the 9-year old said. “I loved sharing the holiday cheer with everybody, not only in my town but many towns outside of Cove. It is always a great learning experience and it was probably the best parade I have had so far.

“Winning was amazing in so many ways and I’m sure all of the Five Hills Royalty felt the same. I was both glad, shocked, and overjoyed,” Sawyer said.

Senior Ms. Five Hills Donna Higgins said it was certainly a night she will long remember.

“Wendy (Sledd) had the dream of a winning float idea, the team came together to make the props, and then practice our song,” Higgins said. “When I learned we won, it was fulfilling the dream for our team to have a crowd pleasing float for everyone to enjoy.”

Five Hills Ambassador Briana Liles represented Copperas Cove on the city float the last two years in the Temple parade when the Five Hills royalty took second place.  She said agreed that the winning secret is teamwork.

“We put so much work into our boxes and got to play with a lot of glitter,” the 11-year old said. “But most importantly, we worked as a team to perform in the parade just like how we practiced it. Working hard as a team really pays off.”

The prize money will be used to pay for the different theme decorations for the half dozen holiday parades at which the titleholders will represent the City of Copperas Cove in December.

“It’s always a big honor when you can bring back a first place win to the great city of Copperas Cove,” Roberts said.