35th Annual Parade of Lights and Winter Wonderland

Downtown San Rafael will once again host its annual holiday Parade & Winter Wonderland. In its 35th year, the event features a Holiday Marketplace with arts and crafts, live entertainment, children’s activities, free snow sledding, and one of the largest Holiday Parades in the Bay Area.

The event is attended by people from all over the Bay Area. It also enjoys a very “local” feel and is known as a great destination for people of all ages. The event starts at noon with free snow sledding and kids’ activities, a Holiday Marketplace and the Parade begins at 5:30 PM.

Following the Parade, Santa, Ms. Claus and other costumed characters arrive with the Mayor of San Rafael to the center of town in the City Plaza to light the official Holiday Tree. Following the Tree Lighting Ceremony, Santa and friends are available for a meet and greet with the kids.

The entire event is free to the public and occurs the day after Thanksgiving, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Don’t miss this great opportunity to take advantage of the Holiday shopping season.

SHOP DOWNTOWN AND ENTER TO WIN A $500 CREDIT CARD SHOPPING SPREE!

The Downtown Business Improvement District is adding a “Shop Downtown” $500 shopping spree raffle! Attendees who show a receipt to the Info Booth from a downtown store or restaurant purchase of $20 or more during the event hours, will be given a raffle ticket to enter a $500 credit card shopping spree! Other winners will be given gift cards or gifts offered by downtown shops. Participants will receive one raffle ticket for each $20 spent at a downtown business.

To request accommodations for persons with disabilities or if you have communication needs such as large print, braille or sign language interpreters, please call 1-800-310-6563 or fax us at 415-456-6436 at least three weeks prior to the event.

For all your public transportation options, visit www.511.org.

Parking Information: 

“The City of San Rafael will once again contribute to holiday cheer by providing our downtown merchants the opportunity to give their customers free 3 hour parking validations. The validations will be redeemable in the two City garages located on 3rd and A and 3rd and C Streets. To assist the West End Village, the parking meters in the lot located at 1550 4th Street will also be provided with 3 hours free parking which will be enforced. The program will run from Thanksgiving Day through December 31st.

The goals of the program are to increase downtown shopping during the holiday season, provide a friendlier shopping experience, and maintain turnover of on-street parking. The Holiday Validation Program has been a huge success since its introduction in 2006. Last year alone, there were 116 local businesses that participated and over 3,300 parking validations were redeemed. The Parking Services Division of the City of San Rafael, is looking forward to contributing to another successful and bright holiday season!