Self-Identified Witches Planning Cookeville Christmas Parade

Image Credit: City of Cookeville / Facebook & Canva

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

According to concerned residents who spoke to The Pamphleteer, Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton happily turned over the planning of the parade to at least one member of Cookeville’s coven after wresting control of the parade from area churches.

After years of being organized by the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, the group backed out surrounding a controversy regarding a disallowed Pride float in 2023, allowing local churches to step up and underwrite the event.

River Community Church of Cookeville, Life Church, and Bluewaters Rentals decided to put Christ at the center of the parade and announced the theme as “Celebrating the Light of CHRISTmas,” but backlash quickly followed when progressive members of the community took issue with the application that included a statement of faith of sorts.

Backlash To Group Trying To Organize Christ-Centered Christmas Parade Spurs “Inclusive” Community Members To Put On Rival “Holiday Gay Pride Parade”

When the local LGBTQ community announced they would have their own “inclusive” event, and with WCTE, Central Tennessee’s PBS station, refusing to broadcast the Christ-centered parade, the city council, along with Wheaton, took action and according to residents, “strong-armed” the churches into giving the city control.

The Pamphleteer reported that Wheaton and Putnam County Schools Superintendent Corby King pressured church organizers to relinquish control of the parade by telling them that schools would not be allowed to participate.

In addition, when the council met in October to vote about assuming control of the parade, the topic was not added to the agenda until the meeting was already underway. Wheaton pressed for a vote at the very end of the meeting.

Several locals that spoke to The Pamphleteer said that they were concerned that this was done intentionally to minimize reaction from the mostly conservative community in Cookeville.

Sam Raper, who has long been known for her connections to witchcraft and is also President of Cookeville Inclusive, was given a seat on the parade committee. 

Raper, along with witchy woman Montana Chambers of The Tiny Cloak, and Emily Woods, who makes jewelry under the name Woods Witch, are not shy about identifying with all things witch.

Chambers organized a GoFundMe that ended up raising a little over $4,000 for Cookeville Inclusive to have their own parade before the city “decided to take it on themselves, and away from the churches.” Chambers called that a “win” in her book.

According to The Pamphleteer, both Chambers and Raper belong to a Facebook group called CKVL Magic Society, where they are active along with other witches and pagans of Cookeville.

Emily Woods, who works part time for Chambers at The Tiny Cloak, is the daughter of Rick Woods, Cookeville’s Leisure Services director, the department in charge of the parade. Woods and Raper have each other listed as sisters on their Facebook profiles.

Sources say that Raper has had a hand in four floats that will be part of the parade on Saturday: Cookeville Inclusive, Upper Cumberland Pride, Queer Closet and Chambers’ occult shop The Tiny Cloak.

Last year, the Chamber’s parade committee took a last minute vote on whether to include Upper Cumberland Pride’s (UCP) float in the 2023 parade over concerns that it might not be family friendly. 

UCP was behind a drag show held on Tennessee Tech’s campus in 2022 where children were present and handed cash to a man dressed up as a Catholic nun who then proceeded to strip of his clothes.

“Catholic” Drag Queen Takes Money From Children During Show Hosted By Publicly Funded University

A source told us that on December 1st Raper posted in the Cookeville Inclusive group with a parade update:

Hi Community!!

The parade is ever closer! Float applications are due by December 4th. If anyone would like assistance with their float, please let us know! Right now there’s about 50 floats that have applied and there’s room for plenty more!

In years past, the parade has been known to include well over a hundred floats. 

WCTE, who agreed to broadcast the parade after the city took over, will be live from Cookeville Square on December 14th at 6pm. Viewers may watch the live stream on YouTube, Facebook and WCTE.org to find out if the parade will keep its promise to truly be a family-friendly event.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.