Via The Inlander

Downtown Spokane knows how to launch the holiday season in style. This year it all kicks off at 3:30 pm on Saturday, November 20, with the Lilac Festival’s first-ever 2021 DESTINATION SPOKANE PARADE. The parade starts on Washington Street at the southeast corner of Riverfront Park, turns west down Riverside Avenue, then loops back east along Main Avenue before heading west again on Spokane Falls Boulevard toward City Hall. That long parade route through the festively decorated streets of downtown Spokane will give spectators plenty of opportunities to see the action.

This inaugural event will capture some of the same energy as the annual Spokane Lilac Festival and Armed Forces Torchlight Parade in May, but with an exciting, seasonally appropriate holiday flair. That means, in addition to marching bands, floats and appearances from community organizations, SANTA CLAUS will be making his grand entrance. Once his sleigh is parked and his reindeer are fed, he’ll head into River Park Square, where his arrival will commemorate the annual LIGHTING OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE in the mall’s atrium. Santa will remain there to field all sorts of gift requests — right up until Christmas Eve, of course, when he’s got to get back to the North Pole.

While you’re downtown, be sure to stop in at your favorite local retailers and restaurants to see how they’re ringing in this holiday season!