The annual Bulls Gap Christmas parade on Sunday had a marching band, race cars, all the sirens anyone could want, more candy than anyone should try to eat, 14 floats -- and Santa Claus.

It also had a whale. More about that later.

The parade began with the Cherokee High School marching band, playing Christmas music and raising spirits, following six antique and classic cars.

Phil Campbell, son of Bulls Gap's favorite son, the late entertainer and TV star Archie Campbell, was the grand marshal.

The parade "was bigger than usual," said Bulls Gap Alderman Pete Shipley, who was the organizer-in-chief. "A lot of people came out," and lined the entire route, he said, beginning and ending at Bulls Gap Elemenary School, as they always do.

The Bulls Gap Parade does not turn away anyone who wants to be included.

Alderman Charles Johnson said he counted 14 floats among the race cars, racing go-karts, racing lawn mowers and (non-racing) tractors.

There was even one stretched "rat rod," an early-1930s Ford that looked like a typical hot rod, the kind that could be seen being driven daily in the 1950s, except that it was five or six feet longer, and quite a bit lower. It was a crowd pleaser.

But eye-catching as it was, the "rat rod" paled in comparison to the winning float, sponsored by Lee Valley Baptist Church in Whitesburg.

The float had two parts, a sailing ship in the front, and a whale in the back.

The overall scene depicted Jonah , who tried to run from God's assignment, only to find himself in the belly of a great fish.

God rescued Jonah from the fish, and Jonah went on to preach repentance to the city of Ninevah.

A sign on the side of the float read, "Where Will God Find You?"

An opening in the whale's sides allowed parade watchers to look in and see Jonah, "praying his way out," as one church member put it.

The first-place winner received $100; second went to Lakeway Achievement Center, for a gingerbread house that received $75.

Third place went to Myers Towing, which received $50.

After the parade, several members of the congregation of Lee Valley Baptist lingered around their float.

A woman suggested to a Greeneville Sun reporter that Roger Wolfe should be asked why he built the float.

" 'Cause the good Lord told me to," was Wolfe's matter-of-fact reply. While true, that wasn't the answer that Karen Wolfe, his pretty wife, was looking for.

Asked again, Roger Wolfe admitted that he had built the float in hopes of winning prize money that could be used to help with the expenses of a church member who has cancer.

So far, Karen Wolfe said, the float has taken second place in the Morristown parade, and first in the Bean Station parade, in addition to first at Bulls Gap. Next week at Mohawk, she said, they may try again.

Gary Biggs, pastor of the 53-member church, agreed ahead of time to match any winnings up to $200, and did, so the float, so far, has raised $475 for Sam Belcher's cancer treatment.

Karen Wolfe said another church member, Cathy Carpenter, had a dream that featured a float with a ship and a whale, but didn't think it would be possible to make one like it.

That was about four weeks ago.

After "the good Lord" gave Roger Wolfe his assignment, Wolfe went to work. He said he made the whale out of "chicken wire and duct tape," then paid to have the hollow leviathan over-sprayed with foam insulation. The insulation man only charged for materials.

After the foam-covered shell was painted, the results, right down to the flipped-up tail, looked professional and very whale-like.

The entire boat was made of discarded shipping pallets, Wolfe said.

Sam Belcher and his wife, Shirley, who has also suffered a bout with cancer, got to see the float when the parade passed by Bulls Gap Funeral Home, Karen Wolfe said.

"Sam's worked hard all his life," said Mrs. Wolfe, and has been a faithful member of the small church. His brothers and sisters in Christ wanted to see if they could help, and the ship and the whale seemed to be the right way to do it, she said.

It hasn't bothered them a bit that the float has caused more than one person to stop and wonder about its message, several church members said.