Niantic Christmas Parade

It was December 12, 2015 around 4pm. It was dark already. It was cold outside and the weather was slightly drizzling and a little dreary. So, what did we decide to do? Go to the Niantic Christmas Parade, of course!

In downtown Niantic, Connecticut, they hold a nighttime Christmas Parade every year. People lined the sides of Main Street (which is closed to regular traffic), vendors are walking up and down the street selling things that whiz, whir and glow in the dark and the sounds of Christmas Music could be heard off in the distance.

The parade was not supposed to start until 6pm. Since we had never been before, we decided to go early. Hence the leaving the house at 4pm. It was a good thing we did and we learned a great lesson. There is a school at the corner of Main and Pattagansett. It has a public parking area. If you get there early enough, you can get a good parking spot. And, when it is time to leave, there is hardly any traffic. The only down side is having to walk a bit (about a 1/4 of a mile).

The parade started at the corner of Main and Columbus Ave and stretched down to Main and Pennsylvania Ave. We walked past the starting point by a few hundred yards, found a spot and set our lawn chairs up. We were ready for some parade action.

Around 6pm the parade started. There were floats of all shapes, sizes, colors and themes. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. There were even some performers that danced down the street and a live band on rocking out on a flatbed truck. The parade ended with jolly old Saint Nick and his wife riding down the road.

The whole thing reminded me of when I was a kid and used to enjoy parades. But, honestly, the parades I went to were in the day time. This one was at night and the lights on the floats gave it such a “wow factor.”

If you happen to be in or around the Niantic, Connecticut area in the beginning of December, I would make plans to go and check this Christmas Parade out. It was fun for kids from 1 to 92. Safe Travels!