There’s nothing quite like a parade to pump life into a street.
I’ve experienced our downtown parades in just about every way one could. For two years, my family lived on the route of the Arlington Independence Day Parade. Everyone knows that parade starts early, and I likely held the record for being the last person out of bed who still got to see the whole thing. I still miss sitting on the front porch with my dogs and my pregnant wife, coffee in hand, watching marching bands go by.
As a self-diagnosed extrovert, I can think of few things more thrilling than riding on a parade float. Four years ago, our former CEO somehow convinced a nightclub owner to let us ride in his float for the Holiday Lights Parade. It was not just any float, though. It was a converted RV that was custom-built to look like a pirate ship. Our staff waved from the gangplank as we rolled through downtown Arlington.
The thrill was not only seeing people you knew in the crowd. It was seeing a child’s face light up when you pointed, waved and made them feel like they were part of the show.
Sure, it probably helped that I was dressed as Buddy the Elf.
Never did I imagine that I would one day be responsible for helping produce that parade.
For 24 years, the Arlington Holiday Lights Parade has been a beloved holiday tradition, built and sustained by faithful volunteers. Generations of Arlington families have made an evening of it: finding a spot along the route, catching up with neighbors, admiring the lights and waiting for that familiar mix of marching bands, classic cars, dancers, community groups and Santa Claus.
That kind of tradition does not happen by accident.
The parade’s longtime volunteer leadership, especially Elle Stubbs, Jonathan Januta and the many people who have served alongside them, has poured extraordinary care into making this event happen year after year. Elle can confidently say she has been organizing the parade for more than half of her life. That is the kind of commitment that turns an annual event into a community institution.
Downtown Arlington Management Corporation was honored when we were asked to carry the parade into its next chapter. We also understood the responsibility that came with the ask. This is not an event we are looking to reinvent for reinvention’s sake. It is a tradition we want to honor, protect and help grow.
I have had the privilege of spending time with Elle and Jonathan, hearing stories and learning just how much work occurs long before the first float turns onto the route. What looks like three hours of holiday fun for families takes months of meticulous preparation, coordination and partnership-building. There are permits, street closures, public safety plans, volunteers, sponsors, entries, staging, route logistics, communications, entertainment and a thousand small details that the public should never have to notice.
Few people also realize that the parade producers have long carried responsibility for Arlington’s spectacular 65-foot Christmas tree on Founders Plaza beside Levitt Pavilion, funded in 2019 by the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation. It takes a dedicated crew working around the clock for 24 continuous hours to assemble it. The tree has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the holiday season in Arlington, and its story reflects how far this celebration has come.
Don Duke, one of the longtime parade leaders, recently reminisced with me about Fred, the original tree vendor, who would harvest a fresh tree and deliver it by flatbed truck to the front of City Hall. There is something wonderfully Arlington about that image: a group of committed people figuring out how to make something special happen because they believed the community deserved it. This tradition continues with the support of two longtime partners – Republic Services and Linebarger Goggan Blair & Simpson, LLP are the tree sponsors that fund the installation of our beloved downtown tree.
This year, we are especially excited to celebrate Arlington’s 150th anniversary. For the first time, the Holiday Lights Parade will have a theme: Celebrating 150 Years in Arlington. We are inviting participants to celebrate the people, places, history and future that make our city special. You can expect to see a beautiful City of Arlington float commemorating this year-long celebration, along with the creative expressions of the entries.
We are also bringing a few new elements to the parade, including professionally built floats and sponsor-supported helium street balloons. These additions will make the experience bigger and brighter, while keeping the heart of the parade where it has always been: local schools, businesses, nonprofits, churches, families and organizations coming together to create something joyful for their neighbors.
That is what a parade does at its best. It gives a community a chance to see itself – not just as individual households or organizations, but as one city sharing the same streets and celebrating the same season.
The holiday celebrations begin with the lighting of Arlington’s 65-foot Christmas tree on Thursday, December 3, at 7 p.m. at Levitt Pavilion. Join Santa and Mayor Jim Ross during First Thursdays as we light up Downtown Arlington and welcome the holiday season together.
Join us for the Arlington Holiday Lights Parade on Saturday, December 12, at 6 p.m. along West Abram, West Main, Center, and West Streets in Downtown Arlington, between Levitt Pavilion and Cooper Street. The event is free and open to the public.
Bring your family, bring a chair, bundle up and find your spot along the route. We look forward to sharing this next chapter of a beloved Arlington tradition with you.
Garret Martin is Vice President of Downtown Arlington Management Corporation.
