Harrisburg, PA – The 2021 Holiday Parade will be held on Saturday, November 20 at 10 a.m. in Downtown Harrisburg. This year’s parade theme is “Merry and Bright.”
“We are very excited about this year’s parade,” said Mayor Papenfuse. “The parade route spans 1.5 miles, allowing ample space to socially distance and safely kick off the holiday season.” The parade will include high school marching bands, dance performances, local celebrities, musical acts, decorated floats, costumed characters and Santa Claus.
The marching bands joining the parade are Central Dauphin High School Marching Ram Band, Center Dauphin East High School Marching Band, Harrisburg High School, Shippensburg Area High School Marching Band and Susquenita Blackhawk Band. The dance and step teams joining the parade include Heavenly Impact, Next Generation Twirlers, Nu’Vizion Step Team, Pennsylvania Regional Ballet, Susquehanna Dance Academy, Tie Dye Twirlers and Wevodau Dance Center.
“I would like to give special thanks to our Title Sponsor, Visit Hershey & Harrisburg and parade sponsors T-Mobile & Cargill. Without their support, we would not be able to put together this wonderful parade,” Mayor Papenfuse said.
The parade route is as follows: Market Street to Second Street, Second Street to North Street, North Street to Front Street, Front Street to City Island. Road closures will begin at 7 a.m. and end at approximately 2 p.m. The Market Street Bridge will be closed starting at 7 a.m. Additionally, Front and 2nd Streets will be closed from Market to Forster Streets starting at 7 a.m. A parade map is available at harrisburgpa.gov/holiday-parade.
Large parade balloons, provided by PA-based Starbound Entertainment, will complete the entire parade route and feature cold air balloon designs including Daniel Tiger, Buddy the dinosaur, a nutcracker and Rudolph.
The Market Square Garage will offer a $10 special event rate from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. courtesy of Park Harrisburg. In addition to the discounted garage rate, parade attendees can utilize the ParkMobile App to get up to 4 hours of free street parking in the Downtown area using the code “LUVHBG.”
Following the parade, join Santa for free hot chocolate and cookies in Strawberry Square, while supplies last, followed by the awards ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Awards will be given to the top Dance, Step & Drill Team Units and cash prizes will be given to the top High School marching bands. All parade participants are eligible to enter the “Best in Theme” contest to win an award and gift card. The judge team is comprised of local media celebrities including Tom Russell from CBS21 News, Janel Knight from ABC27 News, Barbara Barr from WGAL News, Matt Maisel from FOX43 News and Christine Vendel from PennLive.
After the awards ceremony, get brunch or lunch at one of the many restaurants or shop for holiday gifts at local merchants. Local coffee shops will also be offering specialty drinks and discounts including Denim Coffee, Good Brothas Book Café and Little Amps. For a full list of all City businesses to explore, visit explorehbg.com.
All you Can Inc will also be serving a free community Thanksgiving dinner from 3pm – 5pm at the bus station at 2nd & Market Streets.
A free Covid-19 vaccine clinic will be provided by East Shore Pharmacy from 9:30am – 12pm during the parade. The clinic will be located next to the stage at 10 N 2nd Street. The primary and booster series for Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna will be offered. Pediatric vaccines will not be available.
Special thanks to all of our sponsors, including Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, Explore HBG, T-Mobile, Cargill, Capital BlueCross, UPMC, Belco Community Credit Union, Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District, JP Lilley, Aetna, Fox Pest Control, Staybridge Suites, CBS21 and Park Harrisburg.