Unmotorized but unfazed, Raleigh Christmas parade marches to a familiar beat

Proving that a holiday parade is more about feelings than firetrucks and floats, thousands of people came out for Raleigh’s first motor-vehicle-free Christmas parade on Saturday. “It’s grand. It’s beautiful,” said Puja Lunkad, who stood on Fayetteville Street with her husband, Akash, and daughter Saisha as marching bands, dance troupes, step teams and beauty queens passed by. The family, who recently moved to Morrisville, was attending their first Raleigh Christmas Parade and didn’t seem to mind that this year’s event moved at a more halting pace, with a couple of...