The 50th WIVK Christmas Parade will be held Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, in downtown Knoxville.

This year’s parade celebrates WIVK FM’s 70th anniversary as well as the parade’s 50-year history. A record number 122 parade units will proceed along Gay Street, including marching bands, church and community groups, dancers, small businesses and more. 

The parade, which will be held rain or shine, is the latest to use the City’s updated parade route, which has groups staging across the river and marching into downtown via the Gay Street Bridge. Staging for large parades utilizes side streets, including Hill and Main, to merge parade participants into the main flow onto Gay Street. 

Friday’s parade will step off at 6:50 p.m. to reach the bandstand by 7 p.m. 

Attendees should be advised of downtown road closures and are encouraged to arrive downtown early with plenty of time to park and find a good vantage point. Many downtown businesses and galleries will be hosting First Friday events, and both Bijou and Tennessee theaters are hosting sold-out concerts.

Free parking is available after 6 p.m. at all City-owned garages. 

The following roads will close to traffic at 4:30 p.m.:

• Council Place
• S. Gay Street between Council Place and Main Street
• Hill Ave between Hall of Fame Drive and Walnut Street
• Magnolia Avenue between N. Gay Street and S. Central Street

These roads will close to traffic at 5:30 p.m.: 

• S. Gay Street between Main Street and Cumberland Avenue
• Main Street between Walnut and Gay streets

And these roads will close to traffic at 6:15 p.m.:

• Gay Street between Cumberland and W. Fifth avenues
• Cumberland Avenue between Market and Gay streets
• W. Church Avenue between Market and Gay streets
• Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay streets
• Market Street between Clinch and Union avenues

On-street parking spaces in these areas will be unavailable in the afternoon hours. All closure times are subject to change. 

Drivers are cautioned to avoid Summit Hill Drive prior to and during the parade timeframe. All four lanes of cross traffic will be stopped as the parade traverses the intersection. 

The WIVK Christmas Parade is part of the City of Knoxville’s Christmas in the City, a variety of holiday activities in downtown Knoxville including the Holidays on Ice open-air skating rink on Market Square, the Elf on the Shelf Adventure scavenger hunt, and the Peppermint Trail.

Learn more at KnoxvilleTN.gov/Christmas.