Kennewick announces plans for new holiday parade

Santa is coming to town in style this year.

The city of Kennewick announced plans to hold a parade in the downtown area to kick-off a full month of holiday events and Santa is invited.

Emily Estes-Cross with the City of Kennewick says the parade will be the morning of December 2nd and run down W. Kennewick from Dayton to South Auburn Street.

"It will be a relatively short and quick parade just because it could be really cold outside and we want families to come down," says Estes-Cross.

Right now, they are looking for volunteers to help out, or anyone who is interested in taking part in the parade, Estes-Cross adds the only requirement is that the float has a holiday theme.

After the parade, the Mayor will present the key of the city to Santa and "Clause Plaza" off Kennewick Ave. and Benton Ave. will be open into the afternoon for kids to take pictures with Santa, make crafts and grab some food.

Estes-Cross says the idea is to provide a fun event that the whole family can enjoy and they hope to bring more people to the downtown area, shopping local. Toward the end of November, you may notice wreaths and bows going up to decorate the streets. All the stores are encouraged to decorate in a "Winter Wonderland" theme as well.

You can find more information about other events that will be going on in the downtown area on the Kennewick website, including hours for the ice rink and details on Small Business Saturday.