Dayton Holiday Festival 2008

Downtown Dayton is the place for holiday fun! The excitement begins on Friday, November 28, during the 2008 Grande Illumination from 4 to 9 p.m. And this year, we have some big news: the Dayton Children’s Parade will be a lighted evening parade that immediately follows the lighting of the tree!

The public is invited to come and enjoy all of the festivities planned throughout the evening. Courthouse Square is the center of the celebration and the place to see the lighting of the giant tree at 8 p.m. Right after the tree is illuminated, the Dayton Children’s Parade will round the corner of Second and Main Streets.

During the evening, families can enjoy live musical entertainment, carnival rides and games, holiday crafts, horse-drawn wagon rides, a gingerbread house display, and much more in surrounding venues. The majority of the evening’s activities are offered for free so that everyone in the community can enjoy the event. For more details about specific Grande Illumination activities, check out the links in the left-hand menu.

The new, lighted Dayton Children’s Parade replaces the one that historically took place on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Our team of parade volunteers has been hard at work adding festive holiday lights to all of our floats, and the participating units, bands and organizations are also incorporating lights into their appearance. More than 50,000 lights will illuminate the parade!

The 45-minute parade will still feature your favorite floats and entertainers. This year’s Grand Marshal is Clifford The Big Red Dog, and children can look forward to catching a glimpse of Santa himself at the end of the parade.

The parade route will remain the same, starting at West Second Street near Wilkinson Street, heading east to Main Street — arriving at the corner of Second and Main at the official start time of 8 p.m. — heading south on Main to Fourth Street, and moving west on Fourth, dispersing near Sinclair Community College.

Parking Specials: A couple downtown garages right near all the action are offering discounted parking for visitors to the Grande Illumination & Dayton Children's Parade Spectacular in Lights. Get $3 parking in the One Dayton Centre Garage and the Kettering Tower Garage. Visit EasyParkDowntown.org to locate these facilities on our interactive map.

Click here to see Street Closings for the Grande Illumination.

The Grande Illumination & Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights marks the beginning of the month-long Dayton Holiday Festival, an annual celebration that has been making the holidays magical for the community for over 35 years. The Grande Illumination is sponsored by Rieck Services. Media sponsors for the event are WDTN-TV 2 and Lite 99.9 FM.

We have plenty of entertainment on the Main Stage in Courthouse Square leading up to the lighting ceremony. We're still finalizing performers, but here's a look at the line-up so far:

4:00-4:30 p.m. – Music Jamboree with Dorie and Kelly
4:45-5:15 p.m. – Dayton Boys Choir
5:30-6:00 p.m. – Midnight Son
6:10-6:30 p.m. – Dickens Carolers from Christ United Methodist Church
6:40-7:00 p.m. – Schuster Center Children’s Choir
7:10-7:30 p.m. – Schuster Center Celebration Choir

The Main Stage is sponsored by Kroger.

The Tike’s Shop began decades ago at Rike’s Department Store and has been a popular holiday stop for children ever since. The shop is full of goodies that children can purchase as gifts for their friends and families. Children do their own holiday shopping with the help of “elves” who assist them in selecting gifts that stay within their budgets. Parents wait outside the shop while children shop and wrap their purchases. Families can enjoy the animated Wonderland Window displays while visiting the Tike’s Shop, as well as other holiday activities in the Wintergarden on Saturdays throughout the holiday season.

The Tike’s Shop is operated by students from Miami Valley Youth Career Services. These students help design the layout of the store, select merchandise for a child’s budget, and manage the store throughout the holiday season.

Shop Hours
The Tike's Shop will open November 28 and run until December 23. To see a complete schedule of hours, including times when the kids can meet Santa, click here!

The Tike's Shop is sponsored by KeyBank. The media sponsor for The Tike's Shop is ABC 22/FOX 45.

The Dayton Holiday Festival is searching for the area’s best gingerbread houses to compete in the fourth annual Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays Contest on Friday, November 28. Located inside the Old Court House in downtown Dayton, entries will be displayed for public viewing during the Grande Illumination & Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights from 4-9 p.m.

Contest Rules:

There are four entry categories:
- Youth (12 & under)
- Teen (13-17)
- Adult (18+)
- Professional
The structures can be made out of gingerbread, a purchased kit, or even cardboard as long as all exposed surfaces are covered with edible materials. (Entries cannot include ribbon, jingle bells, or candies that are still in their wrappers as these are not edible!)
Prize packages will be awarded to the winners of each category, and one amateur and professional house will be selected as the “Best Looking House on the Block” and win a $500 cash prize.

Contest entries need to be delivered to the Old Court House early on Friday, November 28. They will be judged in the afternoon, and winners will be notified by telephone. All contest winners will have the opportunity to accept their prizes on the Courthouse Square Main Stage before the tree lighting ceremony at 8 p.m. The Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays Contest is sponsored by Elder-Beerman/Bon-Ton. Media sponsors are Times Community Newspapers and MIX 107.7 FM.

Downtown Dayton is lighting up the holidays with the help of the magical Holiday Village. Part of the Grande Illumination & Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights, the Kettering Tower lobby will transform into a free festival featuring games, crafts, and even the chance to call Santa's helpers. This family event, sponsored by Time Warner Cable, takes place on Friday, November 28, from 4 to 9 p.m. The Kettering Tower is located at the southeast corner of Second and Main Streets.

This year's Holiday Village will feature free crafts, carnival games, face painting and more. K12 Gallery for Young People will be among the special 'fantasy shops' where children can take part in hands-on holiday crafts. A favorite at the Holiday Village is Time Warner Cable's 'Dial-An-Elf' phone bank, where kids can call the North Pole and share their wish list with one of Santa's official helpers!

The Holiday Hunt is a free scavenger hunt that provides children ages 2 to 12 with the chance to visit participating downtown businesses and receive prizes. In addition, Holiday Hunt participants can enter a raffle drawing to win great prizes.

All participants start at the Junior League tent on Courthouse Square, where they receive their maps and instructions. The Holiday Hunt is part of the annual Grande Illumination festivities, and the hunt ends at 7 p.m. so that everyone has time to get back to Courthouse Square in time for the lighting of the tree.

While participation is free, it is limited to the first 1,000 children. For more information about the Holiday Hunt, contact the Junior League of Dayton office at (937) 222-5541 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

The Junior League of Dayton, Ohio, Inc. is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The Junior League of Dayton, Ohio, Inc. reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism. For more information about the Junior League of Dayton, visit www.jldayton.org.

Blinking lights and whirring sounds are just a small part of the wonder you'll find at the Street Fair on Third. On Friday, November 28, families throughout the Miami Valley can enjoy carnival rides during this exciting part of the Grande Illumination & Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights.

The carnival will operate throughout the evening on Third Street between Main and Ludlow. Please note this event used to be known as Main Street U.S.A., and this is a change from its usual location; it has been moved to accommodate the Dayton Children’s Parade. The Street Fair on Third will delight children with their favorite pony rides and carnival rides, all sized just for them! The rides are free of charge, but lines tend to get long, so come early. Street Fair on Third is sponsored by Fifth Third Bank.

Downtown Dayton will be ringing in the holidays on Friday, November 28, with the musical event Sounds of the Season. Be sure to check out the festive music from local choirs and musical groups performing in the lobby of National City Center, located at 6 N. Main Street. The performances will begin at 5:30 p.m. and conclude at 7:45 p.m., just in time for the lighting of the tree on Courthouse Square.

Sounds of the Season is a free musical celebration presented as part of the Grande Illumination & Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights by the Dayton Holiday Festival and Culture Works. The indoor entertainment will have audiences whistling holiday tunes and revving up for the greatly anticipated tree lighting ceremony.

Horse-drawn wagon rides, a special favorite for so many people during the Dayton Holiday Festival, are back again this year by popular demand. Please note the boarding location has been moved due to the parade!

Rides will be available during the Grande Illumination & Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights on Friday, November 28, from 4 to 8 p.m. Visitors can board at the corner of Second and Main Streets in front of the Fifth Third Center. The wagons will follow a route up Main St. to First St., down St. Clair St. to Second St., and back to the corner of Second and Main. Cost is $1 per person. Plan to come early, as the rides are very popular and lines can be long. (Please note that in order to ensure everyone in line will get a ride, it is often necessary to close the line earlier than the scheduled end time.)

Horse-drawn carriage rides will also be offered at RiverScape MetroPark from 7-10 p.m. on Dec. 19-20 and Dec. 26-27. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The cost is $5 per person and $8 per couple. The carriages hold four adults. For more information about the carriage rides at RiverScape, call (937) 278-2607.

HollyLights on the Square was a new addition to the Grande Illumination in 2007, and we’re pleased to bring it back this year! The trees on Courthouse Square will be illuminated with color, and the lights will “dance” in synchronization to classic holiday songs. This light show will make its debut immediately following the Grande Illumination on November 28. A 15-minute show will run every half hour during selected times until January 4, 2009. Here's the schedule:

Monday-Friday, from 12-1 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. (until 10 p.m. on Fri.)
Saturdays and Sundays, from 12-10 p.m.

HollyLights on the Square is sponsored by Dayton Power & Light Co.