BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — In just one day all of the streets will be transformed into a holiday wonderland for the Bakersfield Christmas Parade. If you are going, there are details you need to know.
Presented by 23ABC and Hall Ambulance, the Bakersfield Christmas Parade has been the jolliest night of the year for 40 years running. This year's theme is "A Hometown Christmas."
There are over one hundred entries in the parade all set to drive through Downtown Bakersfield.
“The annual Christmas parade tomorrow night, Thursday, December 1st. The parade's gonna start at 6 pm, hard start rain or shine,” said officer Beau Williamson, the Bakersfield Police Department's special events coordinator. “Parade's gonna start at 22nd and L St. It’s going to proceed from 22nd and L to 21st and L, and from there they’ll go westbound at 21st and L until they reach 21st and G Street. There, they will make a southbound turn and come on 20th St. and continue eastbound down 20th St. to the end of the parade.“
Parade closures will prevent parking within those areas, so to get parking for the parade the Bakersfield Police recommend arriving early and parking around the closures. The best routes to drive around and park for the parade are south of 19th Street or west of F Street.
The parade is set to last two hours, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Roadways will be shut down by 5 p.m.
BPD also recommends keeping an eye on your children at all times.
“Some safety tips for tomorrow to follow is if you are watching the parade please don’t go out to the parade route and put yourself in danger or other motorists or whoever’s in the parade in danger,“ said Williamson.
Barricades will be set up along the entire route along with extra protection in certain areas to prevent cars from driving in.
“Something we have is some bigger box trucks that we’re going to use kind of at the entry points of the parade, and that should alleviate anyone getting even to those barricades, so we’re double protected with that there,“ added Williamson.
And of course, if you want to watch the parade from home you can tune in Thursday night at 6 p.m. on 23ABC and our streaming platforms.
