When the annual Downtown Warren Christmas Walk and Parade happens on Friday, Dec. 4, it will look a little different.

With COVID-19 still taking down events, the organizers have been thinking outside the box.

The annual parade will be a parade of shoe-box floats.

Businesses and organizations are invited to sign up to enter their floats by Nov. 27.

So far, the parade line-up includes 15: six different Boy Scout troops; Hospice of Warren County; the Rouse Estate; Warren Players; Turning Solutions; Scott Electric; Betts Industries; the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry; Explorer Post 312; and the Children’s Advocacy Center.

Video will be taken of the floats being pulled past a downtown Warren backdrop. Parade announcers will be Mark Silvis and Dale Bliss.

“We are planning on showing the parade on our big screen downtown during the Walk,” WCCBI Director of Chamber Operations and Tourism John Papalia said.

The Walk will be centered on Liberty Street from 5 to 7 p.m.

Downtown store owners are encouraged to keep their businesses open through the walk.

The traditional window displays are encouraged, too.

Businesses and organizations that will be participating, as well as interested vendors, are encouraged to contact WCCBI at 723-3050.

A map of participating locations is in the works.

A special Christmas story book will be created by students in Warren County schools. Students in grades one through three at all four Warren County School District elementary schools will be submitting pages. The top three from each grade and school will be posted online. Public participation will determine which will be the 12 pages to make final publication in the book.

Santa has been contacted and is expected to be downtown at 6:30 p.m.. Due to COVID-19 and the importance of keeping him healthy, social distancing from Santa will be maintained.

Those interested in getting a special message to Santa may look for the mail box that will be on Liberty Street during the event and outside of WCCBI through the week before Christmas.

Letters to Santa may be placed there, no postage required.

WCCBI representatives have been told that letter writers may expect return correspondence from the North Pole.