TOLEDO, Ohio — Downtown Toledo opens the holiday season on Saturday, November 14, when the 39th Annual Blade Holiday Parade steps off at 10 a.m., bringing giant balloons, marching bands, floats and Santa’s first Toledo appearance of the season to the downtown streets, according to The Blade’s official parade page.
The parade begins at the corner of North Summit Street and Jefferson Avenue, then turns onto Jackson Boulevard, makes its way to Huron Street and finishes down Washington Street, The Blade says. Street closures along the route begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, two hours before step-off, so families heading downtown should plan to arrive and park before the barricades go up.
This year’s Grand Marshal is the Bay View Yacht Club, The Blade announced. The club’s members are also continuing their parade-day book tradition: the club says 2,280 books have been ordered for distribution along the parade route, a giveaway that has become one of the parade’s signature touches for children watching from the curb.
The lineup is set. The Blade says unit participation requests are no longer being accepted because of the overwhelming response, with more than 60 organizations included in this year’s festivities, according to the Bay View Yacht Club. Questions about sponsoring or volunteering go to the Blade’s events office.
For downtown businesses and residents, the morning’s rhythm is familiar: closures from 8 a.m., crowds building along Summit and Jackson well before 10, and Santa closing the parade as he makes his season debut. Spectators who want the full route experience should stay to the end — Santa traditionally brings up the rear.
The parade also opens a busy downtown holiday stretch. The City of Toledo follows it a week later with two days of festivities on November 20 and 21, built around the Promenade Park Tree Lighting and the return of the International Holiday Market at Levis Square Park, the city announced. Saturday’s parade, though, remains the season’s traditional starting gun — the morning Toledo families have marked for 39 years.
What happens next: bundle up, get downtown before the 8 a.m. closures, and claim a spot along Summit Street or Jackson Boulevard. The 39th edition of the parade rolls at 10 a.m. sharp on Saturday.
Photo: MrJacon000, CC BY-SA