Holiday revelers will have an exciting weekend – three Christmas parades in two days!
Motorists should anticipate some rolling roadblocks, temporary street closures and temporary no-parking zones as tonight’s 43rd annual WIVK Christmas Parade steps off at 7 p.m. downtown, with separate Saturday parades being offered in Fountain City and Rocky Hill.
Tonight’s WIVK Christmas parade begins on Howard H. Baker Jr. Avenue and Church Avenue and will continue to Gay Street, Gay Street to Jackson Avenue, and then Jackson Avenue to Morgan Street. This year’s WIVK Christmas Parade is presented by the Smoky Mountain Air Show.
With First Friday festivities and several performances and events downtown tonight, organizers recommend allowing plenty of time to get parked and in place for the parade. The most convenient parking for early arrivers is at the State Street, Locust Street, Market Square, Walnut Street or Dwight Kessel garages downtown.
Note these road closures and temporary no-parking zones:
• The eastbound lane of Howard H. Baker Jr. Avenue between Hill Avenue and Hall of Fame Drive will be closed, starting at 4 p.m. Friday.
• Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay streets will be closed from 6:45-8:30 p.m. Friday.
• Market Street between Clinch and Union avenues also will be closed from 6:45-8:30 p.m.
• Roads will be closed along the parade route, starting at 6:45 p.m. Friday, including Gay Street between Cumberland and Depot avenues. Streets are expected to reopen at 8:20 p.m.
• There will be temporary no-parking zones on Gay Street between Jackson and Cumberland avenues, as well as on Church Avenue, starting at 3 p.m. Friday. This includes the 100 block of Gay Street.
• There also will be temporary no-parking zones on Market and Union, starting at 4 p.m.
Two more parades will be presented on Saturday, Dec. 5.
• The Fountain City Optimist Christmas Parade steps off at 10 a.m., and it heads north on Broadway, starting at Tazewell Pike and ending at Gresham Road. Anticipate rolling closures along the route.
• The Rocky Hill Business District Christmas Parade steps off at 6 p.m., beginning near Rocky Hill Elementary School (close to the ball fields on Alki Lane), and ending at Rocky Hill Baptist Church, 7409 S. Northshore Drive. The parade route follows Alki Lane to Morrell Road, then Morrell to Northshore to the church.