Redneck Christmas Parade brings cheer, charity to Louisiana town

Christmas came early for the “rednecks” in this Louisiana town.

The 17th annual Bawcomville Redneck Christmas Parade was held on Dec. 2 in the small town of 2,700 residents in West Monroe, Louisiana.

“This is part of our town — I don’t think there’s very many rules,” parade participant Zach Raybourn told CNN.

Floats that participated in the holiday revelry were decorated in redneck themes and included one with a man sitting on a toilet bowl and others filled with empty beer cans.

Some displayed signs with ‘country’ sayings like “Kiss ur cuzin” and “Crack is wak” scrawled upon them.

A tractor, trash truck, and multiple pickup trucks were also part of the festivities.

“We have Leroy the Redneck Reindeer,” reveler Bryan Baker told the outlet, gesturing to a stuffed deer head with a red nose on his float. “You can’t get anymore redneck than that.”

Baker went on to explain how to define rednecks. “We’d rather be out in the woods, be out in the country — sit back on the porch, bonfire, cold beer,” he said.

Those who march toss items like toothbrushes, ramen noodles, beads, toilet paper, and candy into the crowd of spectators.

Shane Wooten, a local realtor, dressed as the Grinch and brought hundreds of packages of ramen noodles to throw from a La-Z-Boy he fastened to a motorized scooter.

The noodles are a nod to a joke about rednecks, that claims they eat dry noodles since they are cheaper than chips.

“It’s just not your typical Christmas parade. It’s something to laugh about,” Wooten told the outlet.

All proceeds from the event benefit local children during the Christmas season, according to the parade’s Facebook page.

“We have over 100 children and their families that we are trying to provide Christmas for this year! Everything stays right here in this community and truly does make a difference,” the post explained.

“I understand that most of us don’t have to worry about where our next meal will come from or where our children’s happiness will come from on Christmas morning, but that is not the case for a lot of families in our area.”

More than 30% of residents in Bawcomville, which is close to 200 miles from Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rogue, live below the poverty line.

This is apparent on the parade route, which is lined with RVs and tents, where some residents live, abandoned stores, a pawn shop, and a few Dollar General stores.

Nonprofit workers Debi Mayo and Rachel Holmes from Bawcomville Hope, which provides hot meals to those in need there, were at the parade doing outreach.

“People don’t realize this is kind of like a Third World country,” Holmes told the outlet. There were many homeless people in the area, living in abandoned mobile homes.“

“And in the woods,” Mayo added. “Makeshift tents. It’s a terrible situation we’re in. Even people with jobs are suffering because of the high price of the economy.”