Update on Missoula Parade of Lights Route and Times Saturday

The busy elves at the Missoula Downtown Association are hard at work on this year's "Reverse Parade of Lights."

While the holidays may look different this year, downtown Missoula still plans to celebrate the season. The 18th annual Parade of Lights will be this Saturday, December 5, and everyone (except maybe your vehicle driver) will hopefully enjoy a rather unique parade viewing experience.

You would normally walk or park and then position yourselves along a parade route and watch as floats go by, right? The REVERSE parade means you will drive by the parade entries while they remain stationary.

The Parade of Lights will be using the University of Montana campus for the annual festivities.  Make your way east on Sixth Street, which spills right into Campus Drive and follows the perimeter of the UM campus. With students gone for the holiday break, it will be  a quieter time and this will allow the community to drive their cars past the festive floats. Our guess is bicyclists and pedestrians will be able to enjoy as well.

The parade concludes at the other end of Campus Drive, in other words, the intersection of Arthur and Beckwith. It is our understanding that parade viewing will be a one-way drive arrangement. Please be respectful, patient and take your time so that all can enjoy safely.

The Parade of Lights will be from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Missoula Downtown Association has other activities planned in conjunction with this event, which you can take a look at here.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good parade!