Raleigh Christmas Parade: What to Know About it’s First Virtual Year

Mark your calendars! The 76th annual Raleigh Christmas Parade will be taking place on November 21! The tradition of the Raleigh Christmas Parade is still happening, but the parade will be looking a little different this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time ever, the parade will be held virtually, but don’t let that stop you from joining in on the festivities! Although virtual, you still get to experience the magic of the Raleigh Christmas Parade for a few hours.You’ll still be able to watch the floats parade around Downtown Raleigh, see special guests, enjoy Christmas music, see Santa and so much more! 

This year you won’t have to worry about bundling up to stand outside, commuting to downtown Raleigh and fighting off parade traffic, hunting for parking, or looking for a good spot to watch the parade. Instead, you just turn your TV on! It may be a little disappointing to have yet another situation go virtual; however, it opens up the opportunity to shake this tradition up a little bit. During this time you can sit down and enjoy the parade with your friends and family or you can put it on TV while decorating your house for the holiday season, baking Christmas cookies with your friends and family, or indulge in any other holiday activities. This is the perfect time to sit back, relax and enjoy a day filled with holiday festivities. 

Even though it is virtual, this is still an amazing opportunity to try and stay connected to the community around you. Hosted by Shop Local Raleigh, the Raleigh Christmas Parade has always been centered around promoting small local businesses and every year it brings in over 60,000 in person spectators and reaches an online audience of over 250,000 people.This is great exposure for local Raleigh businesses. This year, over 75 businesses will be in the limelight in this year’s parade, and now more than ever is when they need support. Businesses, especially small businesses, have been struggling due to the impact of COVID-19 and with this year’s Christmas parade being virtual, they won’t be getting that in person exposure they usually do. While watching the parade make sure you take note of local businesses you are interested in and (if you are able to) go out and support them!

You’ll be able to watch the event live on WRAL and ABC11 at 10am to noon.You will also have the opportunity to watch the Raleigh Christmas Parade again on Christmas morning! You can  also stream the event on ABC11.com or if you have Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV or Android TV, viewers can watch the parade through the ABC11 TV App. The parade will be starting on Hillsboro Street, passing through the State Capitol and Fayetteville Street, and ending on Lenoir street. 

Remember to stay safe during this holiday season, spend time with family and friends, and support the local businesses of Raleigh and surrounding communities!