MORRISVILLE - As the marching band pounded on the drums and dancers shook to the music, 3-year-old Nathan McCartney shimmied and moved with the beat.

"He's a maniac," said his mother, Victoria McCartney.

The McCartneys were among the crowd of about 3,000 lined up along Town Hall Drive on Saturday for Morrisville's first Winterfest Parade.

"It's a family event, so it's great," she said. "The kids especially loved the music."

While it continued to host an annual tree-lighting ceremony, the town has not held a parade since 2007 due to budget cuts.

Morrisville Councilwoman Margaret Broadwell came up with the idea in September to re-launch the parade, and created her own private company, Variety Venues, to do it.

"I believe that whenever possible, the town should provide amenities to bring the community together," she said. "Since the council chose not to fund it, I felt strongly enough to do it."

She said it cost about $3,000 to put on the parade, with contributions from two local companies and about $1,000 of her own money.

"Next year should be an even bigger and better year," she said.

In total, the town has cut about $12,000 in the past three years for popular events such as the Day at the Park festival. To keep up community spirit, the town has hosted events that use sponsorship funding, such as a Taste of Morrisville, said Mayor Jackie Holcombe.

"Doing it through sponsorships allows us to still be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and still have annual events," Holcombe said.

In the past decade, the town has grown exponentially, from 5,208 people in 2000 to 18,576 people in 2010, bringing in more families with young children.

It's a large shift for a community that was predominately commercial until 2003, according to Wake County tax records.

Chris Collins moved to Morrisville about a year ago for work and brought his son Cameron Collins, 3, to the parade. Cameron happily waved to each of the performers as they passed.

"I think it's a great idea," Collins said.

"I think Morrisville is growing, and this is a good thing for families."

More than two dozen businesses and community groups participated in the parade. Crowd favorites included the Helping Mission Marching Band, mascots from several local businesses and sports teams, and Santa Claus.

The noise from the marching band actually drew Sarah Uzoma from her home.

"I had no idea this was going on," she said. "It's wonderful. It's different from what they used to have. The best part has to be seeing people out here participating."

Her son Nnamdi Uzoma, 12, missed the marching band but got to see one of his favorite characters.

"I got to see Ms. Wuf, which I liked because I'm a Wolfpack fan," he said.