Christmas Is Saved! Grand Rapids Santa Parade Is Back After Being Canceled

Santa Claus IS coming to town, after all!

Two weeks after the Grand Rapids Junior Chamber announced they were canceling the Santa Parade, the city changed its mind.

What Happened?

Two weeks ago, the Grand Rapids Junior Chamber officially announced that they are canceling the Santa Parade that was slated to happen in November of this year.

Clearly, the community was not having it!

City of Grand Rapids Special Events Manager Evette Pittman said

that several people contacted the Special Events office after the announcement and “asked us to do everything possible to keep this great tradition alive. We went to work immediately to do just that. I am very pleased with the collaborative response from our community and staff and am proud that we will celebrate a 102^nd Santa Parade here in Grand Rapids on November 18.

You can read more about the cancellation here.

Will The Santa Parade Happen?

The 2023 Gentex Grand Rapids Santa Parade will be taking place on Saturday, November 18th at 10 AM at the corner of Lyon Street and Monroe Ave NW.

The parade will then continue down Monroe to Monroe Center Street to the north side of Division to Fulton St E to Jefferson St NE.

In the press release, it was revealed that,

Parade events conclude at approximately 11 a.m. in the parking lot of First United Methodist Church where organizers will host a party for kids and families. The Grand Rapids Children’s Museum and Family Promise of West Michigan will be on hand to provide fun activities. Santa also will stop by to visit with families.

Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss thanked the people and organizations that stepped up to make this holiday tradition happen.

I love welcoming hundreds of families downtown every year to kick off the holidays and welcome Santa back to Grand Rapids. I thank the JR Chamber for their years of hosting this event. Its institutional knowledge has been invaluable to help our committee plan this year’s event. I also appreciate those who have stepped forward to save this year’s event and encourage the community to support it with their attendance and participation.

Will you attending this year's Santa Parade?