“Tales of Christmas” is the theme of this year’s Mathews Christmas Parade, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 8. The parade is presented by the Mathews Visitor and Information Center.

Mike Beavers will serve as this year’s grand marshal. A native of Los Angeles, California, Beavers spent 30 years in the Air Force and retired in 1989 as a colonel.

He then went back to school and became an elementary school teacher in Maryland. In the early 2000s, Beavers moved to the Mathews area to be with family. It was here that he became the bookmobile manager for the Gloucester Library, as well as a fervent tutor and volunteer in the Lee-Jackson Elementary School library.

He spends the rest of his time teaching Sunday school, enjoying music with his 14 grandchildren, and cheering on the kids of his favorite sports teams at Mathews High School, where they lovingly call him Grandpa Mike.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Thomas Hunter Middle School and ends at the...