The 16th annual Mount Olive Black History Month Parade will be held Saturday, Feb. 24. Here, a group marches in the 2023 parade. Entry deadline is Saturday. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
A highlight of the Unity Organization’s annual Black History Parade is all of the candy tossed out by parade entries. Here, children and adults scramble for candy during the 2023 parade. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
Miranda Cox Haskins, owner and operator of Legacy Cakes & Courtesies, located at 2116-B Wayne Memorial Drive in Goldsboro, will be the grand marshal for the Mount Olive Black History Month Parade.
Saturday, Feb. 17, is the deadline for vendor and parade entries for the 16th annual Mount Olive Black History Month Parade that will be held Feb. 24.
Applications are available at Mount Olive Town Hall, 114 E. James St., and Wayne County Public Library, 1001 E. James St., Goldsboro or by contacting organizer Vicky Darden at P.O. Box 128, Mount Olive, N.C., 28365.
No horse entries will be allowed.
The annual event, sponsored by the Unity Organization, traditionally attracts thousands of people who line Breazeale Avenue.
Entries will line up beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, on Talton Avenue. Those in the parade should enter Talton Avenue from the Old Mount Olive Highway.
Signs will be in place to direct traffic to the lineup area.
The parade will step off at 1 p.m.
From Talton Avenue, the parade will turn left (south) onto Breazeale Avenue (U.S. 117 Business). It will follow Breazeale Avenue south to the Carver Cultural Center where it will disband.
March 2 is the rain date.
Vendors will be selling food along the route, and entries may toss out candy to spectators.
The grand marshal will be Miranda Cox Haskins, owner and operator of Legacy Cakes & Courtesies, located at 2116-B Wayne Memorial Drive in Goldsboro.
Cooking and baking have been Haskins’ life-long interests.
She initially started her home baking business in 2002. She decided to perfect her craft while living in Maryland and enrolled in culinary school and obtained formal culinary training and completed her studies at Baltimore International College.
She obtained her specialized degree in professional baking and pastries and became a certified pastry chef.
Opening a bakery had always been her lifelong dream, Haskins said.
However, it was not until her home baking business began taking over her home, that she decided to make her dream a reality.
She officially opened her first brick and mortar location in April 2023.
Her bakery specializes in cheesecakes, cookies, puddings and custom cakes for all occasions.
Haskins also is the creator of Southern Indulgence Emulsion — buttery vanilla pound cake flavoring that can be used in all baked goods.
She has two daughters, Lauren and Lillian.
