The inaugural Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade was held on December 5, 1993. It was organized by former Mayor Will Kleindienst with the help of a group of local community individuals. They wanted to create an event that would kick off the Christmas season, allowing residents and visitors to celebrate its spirit and joy.
The parade is held on the first Saturday in December. The event takes place in downtown Palm Springs. The parade begins at the intersection of Palm Canyon Drive and Ramon Road, heads northbound on Palm Canyon Drive and ends at Tamarisk Road. The route is about 1.25 mules long. The Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade is a nighttime event, it starts at 5:45 pm and lasts between 90 minutes and 2 hours depending on the number of floats. It takes approximately half an hour for each unit to complete the route.
The Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade is held rain or shine, it is never postponed or canceled even in the case of inclement weather. However, large balloons may be restricted from participating if the wind is too strong. Note that the weather might get quite cool the night of the parade (it’s December, after all) so dressing warmly and bringing an umbrella is a good idea.
The parade features over 80 entries including floats decorated with thousands of Christmas lights, giant Macy’s-style helium balloons, marching bands, cheerleading squads, drum squads, and even equestrian units. The parade units participate in a competition where they are judged in several categories such as Best Float, Best Small Rig, Best Large Rig, Best Band, etc.
Over the years, the Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade has become one of the best local events in the Coachella Valley. It was also voted one of the Top Ten Holiday Parades in the United States in an AOL survey. It brings an estimated 100,000 people annually to the downtown, many of whom are tourists (the total population of Palm Springs is about 46,000 people).
Photo by Mike Basinger
