Local

The 45th annual Dayton Holiday Festival kicks off today

DAYTON — The holiday season kicks off in Dayton today with the annual Grande Illumination and Dayton Children's Parade Spectacular in Lights.

RELATED: Kick off the holiday season at Middletown's annual Santa Parade

This year marks 45 years celebrating the Dayton Holiday Festival, presented by Dayton Power & Light.

The event will be held at Courthouse Square and surrounding buildings from 4-9 p.m. with the tree-lighting ceremony at 7:45 p.m. and the parade immediately following. Hundreds of thousands of lights will illuminate the 45-minute parade, which will feature a variety of floats, entertainers, animals and several surprises.

RELATED: Christmas officially arrives starting this weekend

Activities planned include the live reindeer display, musical entertainment, carnival rides and games, holiday crafts and games, horse-drawn wagon rides, the Tike's Shoppe and a gingerbread house contest.

A complete list of festival events is available online, as well as a calendar of other downtown holiday events.

PARADE ROUTE: 

The parade will begin at 7:50 p.m. at Second and Wilkinson streets. It will proceed east on Second Street to south on Main Street, then to west on Fourth Street. When at Fourth and Perry streets, the parade floats will disband and stage for escort to their designated storage area.

Streets to Be Closed for Dayton Holiday Festival:

  • Closed from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.:  Third Street between Main and Ludlow
  • Closed from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m.:  Second Street between Perry and Vista View
  • Closed from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.:  Wilkinson Street between Second and Third,  Ludlow Street between First and Second
  • Closed from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.:  Main Street between First and Fifth, Second Street between Jefferson and Perry, Third Street between Jefferson and Perry, Fourth Street between Jefferson and Ludlow, Wilkinson Street between Maple and Fourth, Southbound Red Cross Lane between First and Second, Southbound Stafford Street between First and Second

RELATED: This breathtaking holiday light display is celebrating 27 years

The Dayton Holiday Festival, presented by DP&L, is a program of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and the Mrs. Virginia W. Kettering Dayton Holiday Festival Fund.

0
Comments on this article