BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – A family wanted to hold a birthday party for their one-year-old son, but the coronavirus canceled their plans. So instead they threw a parade for him.
Originally, their son Corbin’s birthday party was to be held on April 24, but it was canceled due to the pandemic. Corbin’s father Derek Kincaid says the family was disappointed that their original plans had to be scrapped.
“First birthday. And we wanted to have a special party for him, had a big party planned. And since the virus hit we had to cancel all that,” Kincaid said.
Derek has worked with emergency services for the last 13 years. To make up for the lost party, he decided to contact his colleagues at the Beaver Volunteer Fire Department to help set up a small parade with fire trucks, ambulances and police cars.
First responders and many family friends turned out to participate in the drive-by parade. They’d stop by, pick up some cake and leave off a present – a safe and low-contact way to hold a birthday celebration. According to Derek, his colleagues have been looking forward to the celebration for a while
“Oh they’re all excited about it, especially the guys at my fire department in Beaver. They’ve been super pumped about it for a while. They’ve pretty much taken Corbin in as one of their own.”
Corbin’s parents say they appreciate that they were able to eventually hold a celebration for him. Although he likely won’t remember much of it, they look forward to showing him the home videos later in his life.
“Yeah this’ll probably be in his graduation video once he graduates high school.”
The pandemic has left many people distraught due to the cancellation of events. But it’s still very possible to hold events and celebrations if they are done in a creative and safe manner.
