On the evening of Friday, Dec. 4, the floats line up at Maxwell Avenue and roll north on Briggs Street to Cheesman. Walkers peel off toward Coal Creek Park, and the floats keep going to Evans. That stretch of Briggs is the whole parade route. In the weeks around it, the same few blocks host carriage rides, a winter market and Santa on the sidewalk, each put on by one of two groups.
The Erie Chamber of Commerce hosts the Parade of Lights. The We Love Erie Business Collective runs Shop Small Erie and most of the season's carriage rides. The Town of Erie is mostly a sponsor here. It's a presenting sponsor of Shop Small Erie alongside ALLO Fiber, and Town of Erie Economic Development is one of the Collective's legacy partners. So the parade is one night. The full season stretches from Thanksgiving weekend to the week before Christmas.
The Whole Season on One Page
Both groups' calendars together look like this:
| Date | Event | Where | Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 26, 9 a.m.–noon | The Pilgrimage Run | Erie Community Center | Town calendar listing |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Shop Small Erie | Downtown Erie | We Love Erie Business Collective |
| Sat., Nov. 28, noon–2 p.m. | Free holiday carriage rides | Coal Creek Park parking lot, 575 Kattell St. | We Love Erie Business Collective |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 4:30–7:30 p.m. | Free holiday carriage rides | Piripi, 615 Briggs St. | We Love Erie Business Collective |
| Fri., Dec. 4, activities from 4:30 p.m., parade at 6:30 p.m. | Parade of Lights | Downtown Historic Erie | Erie Chamber of Commerce |
| Thu., Dec. 10, 4:30–7:30 p.m. | Free holiday carriage rides | Piripi, 615 Briggs St. | We Love Erie Business Collective |
| Thu., Dec. 17, 4:30–7:30 p.m. | Free holiday carriage rides | Piripi, 615 Briggs St. | We Love Erie Business Collective |
Carriage rides show up on five separate dates. Four come from the Collective, and the fifth is the Chamber's parade-night ride from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. If what you want is a horse-drawn loop through downtown with the lights on, parade night is only one of five chances, and it will be the most crowded.
Saturdays and Thursdays Belong to the Storefronts
The Collective describes its work as advocacy, promotion and connection for local businesses, and membership as a partnership to support them. Its events reflect that. They're built around shopping and eating downtown, so they fall on the days stores and restaurants are open.
Shop Small Erie runs Saturday, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Expect discounts at local shops, a holiday winter market and music from DJ Orion Giant. The first 150 people to arrive get a free shopping tote, and some totes hold surprise local gift cards. Free carriage rides start at noon that day from the Coal Creek Park parking lot at 575 Kattell St. and run until 2 p.m., presented by ALLO Fiber. Get there before 11 if you want a tote. The rides overlap the second half of the market, so you can shop and ride in one trip.
The three Thursday rides in December all start from the same restaurant. Piripi at 615 Briggs St. is a Latin and Mediterranean restaurant that specializes in gluten-free food. Hugo Meyer is the owner and executive chef, and he and Victoria own it together. They opened on Briggs in August 2020. Rides run from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, 10 and 17. That's three hours each night, longer than the two-hour windows on Nov. 28 and parade night, and right at dinnertime on a weeknight. If you'd rather avoid the parade crowd, a Thursday ride followed by dinner on Briggs is the easier evening.
The Friday Downtown Closes to Cars
Parade night works differently. The Saturdays and Thursdays bring people to storefronts that are open anyway. The Chamber's event closes the street for the evening and fills it with activities. Here's how the evening runs, from the Chamber's Parade of Lights 2026 page:
- 2 p.m. No parking on Briggs Street from Maxwell Avenue to Evans Street, or on Kattell Street from Moffat to Cheesman, until 10 p.m.
- 4 p.m. Briggs closes from Anderson Street to Evans, and Kattell from Moffat to Cheesman. Local school choirs sing inside Orchard Community Church at 470 Briggs St. until 6 p.m.
- 4:30 p.m. Activities begin. Santa and Mrs. Claus are on Briggs until 6, and free carriage rides run until 6:30.
- 5:45 p.m. Briggs closes completely from Perry Street to Evans, along with every street that crosses it in that stretch. This is also the deadline to be parked in the limited ADA spaces.
- 6 p.m. Post Office access ends.
- 6:30 p.m. The parade starts.
"Once the parade begins at 6:30 PM, there will be no vehicle access in or out for residents and businesses east of Briggs St."
If you live east of Briggs, the time to run errands is before 6:30 or after the parade clears. The page says the stretch from Perry Street to Erie Parkway will start reopening as the parade passes. For emergencies, call 911. The non-emergency number listed is 303-441-4444.
The Post Office stays reachable until 6 p.m. Drive north on Kattell, turn west on Moffat, then take the alley north into the Post Office lot and leave the same way you came in.
Where to Park, and Where Not To
The Chamber points visitors to residential streets, the Erie Methodist Church lot on Holbrook Street just west of Town Hall, and the Town Hall lot at Holbrook and Cheesman. Don't park in alleys, which have to stay clear for first responders, and don't block fire hydrants. There are only a few ADA spaces, available first come, first served. They're behind Orchard Community Church at Moffat Street and in the lot south of Coal Creek Park on Kattell. You need to be in them by 5:45 p.m., and you won't be able to move your car during the parade.
What the Street Itself Offers That Night
With traffic gone, the Chamber fills Briggs and the streets around it with things you won't find there the rest of the year:
- Warm drinks: free hot chocolate, snacks and restrooms at Orchard Community Church, 470 Briggs St., and more free hot chocolate at the Calvary Bible Church tent on Briggs.
- Food for sale on Wells and Briggs: JLK Kettle Corn, Deborah Ann Does Donuts, Kogler's Bakery, Belgian Waffles and Chick-fil-A. The Chamber also suggests coming early to eat at downtown restaurants.
- Skating: open skating at the Erie Ice Rink, 575 Kattell St.
- If someone gets separated: lost-children and first-aid tents stand next to the DJ by Fox Dog Coffee on Briggs Street.
The ice rink and the Nov. 28 carriage pickup share an address, 575 Kattell St., on the Coal Creek Park side of downtown. Parade walkers end up there too, after leaving the route at Cheesman. For families with kids in the parade, the park is the natural place to meet up afterward.
Questions about parade night go to the Chamber at 303-828-3440 or [email protected].
New Names Along the Route
The Town of Erie's September 2026 business newsletter listed several as coming soon. On or near Briggs, those included Erie Cor Arts at 365 Briggs St., Little Grove at 512 Briggs St., and Whitney Lane Aesthetics at a new location at 149 S. Briggs St. Johnny Bechamel's was also on the list, at 656 Kattell St.
Little Grove describes itself as a children's play center with a coffee bar, and it set Nov. 9 as its opening date. In the Town's September newsletter, Johnny Bechamel's was preparing for a fall 2026 opening, with construction underway at 656 Kattell. The same newsletter said CO-Create Erie Makerspace had received its certificate of occupancy and was ready for the group to move in and set up. It also said planning was continuing for restaurant, retail and commercial space at 130 Wells Street and 150 Briggs Street. Wells Street is also where the Chamber sets up its parade-night food vendors.
At The Niwot Group, we follow downtown calendars like this one closely, because the blocks around Briggs Street are where a lot of Erie's community life happens. If you live near the parade route and want to know what your home is worth in that part of town, start with a free home valuation, and we'll give you a number grounded in the street you actually live on.
