Parade and Stroll in Great Falls

Last Friday was the Christmas Parade of Lights and Stroll in downtown Great Falls, MT. It is usually held the first Friday in December.

We had several inches of snow on the ground and the day before the parade we received about 5 additional inches of fluffy, white snow. Boy, did that put everyone in the Christmas spirit! It’s just more fun having this event with lots of snow.

Downtown Great Falls coordinates the parade and stroll. Vendors, mostly food and beverage, are set up along Central Avenue and some stores allowed artisans and crafters to display items for sale.

Storefronts were lit up and decorated. Downtown Great Falls’ replica historic lamp posts were also decorated and lit so everything looked very festive.

The parade entrants were lined up on 7th Street and 8th Street sidestreets. I saw some chilly penquins…hey, penguins should be used to being chilly! I must admit, these penguins from a local dance school were having a great time.

After parading and strolling for about seven blocks we arrived at Great Falls’ Civic Center and then Santa climbed out of his sleigh (a wagon pulled by a team of draft horses), sprinkled pixie dust on the huge evergreen tree and it magically lit up. Hey, it’s not just little kids who get a kick out of this!

There was quite a crowd that had followed Santa and the remaining parade entrants towards the Civic Center so it was hard to get a good view of the tree.

I met my daughter and granddaughter near the big tree that Santa lit. Even with the chilly evening, a two-year old can enjoy the magic of Christmas. And grandma too.