Midwest Holiday Events Featuring Charming Small Town Parades
When winter blankets the Midwest with snow, small towns transform into magical holiday wonderlands.
From twinkling lights to festive floats, these charming parades capture the heartwarming spirit of the season that big city celebrations often miss.
I’ve explored dozens of these hometown celebrations and compiled my favorite holiday parades that showcase the authentic midwestern hospitality and traditions that make this region special during the holidays.
1. Galena’s Luminaria Night Parade
Nestled along the Mississippi River in Illinois, Galena’s parade features over 5,000 candlelit luminarias lining the historic Main Street. The warm glow against 19th-century buildings creates a postcard-perfect scene straight from a Dickens novel.
What makes this parade truly special is how locals dress in period costumes, singing carols as horse-drawn carriages clip-clop down the brick streets. Each storefront competes for the most creative holiday display, turning the entire town into a living museum.
After the parade, visitors can warm up with complimentary hot chocolate served by shopkeepers who stay open late for holiday shopping. This event happens the second Saturday of December and draws visitors from across three states.
2. Story City’s Yulefest Parade of Lights
Scandinavian heritage shines bright during Story City, Iowa’s enchanting Yulefest celebration. Children clutching traditional straw goats watch wide-eyed as the town’s antique carousel characters come to life in this magical procession that’s been delighting families since 1914.
Unlike typical parades, this one features handmade lanterns carried by local families, many passed down through generations. The parade winds through the town square where a massive bonfire awaits, surrounded by vendors selling authentic Norwegian lefse and Swedish meatballs.
My favorite part is how the parade ends with everyone gathering around the town’s 30-foot spruce tree, singing folk songs in Norwegian and English. The entire experience feels like stepping into an old-world European Christmas card.
3. Frankenmuth’s Christkindlmarkt Parade
Michigan’s Little Bavaria transforms into a German fairytale during Frankenmuth’s Christkindlmarkt Parade. The highlight is the appearance of the Christkind a young woman dressed as a golden-haired angel who officially opens the holiday market season with a procession of traditional German characters.
Bavarian music fills the air as local children carry lanterns and sing German carols they’ve learned in school. The scent of roasted chestnuts and glühwein (mulled wine) wafts from wooden market stalls that line the parade route.
If you arrive early, you can watch artisans demonstrate traditional crafts like glass-blowing Christmas ornaments. The parade happens the Friday after Thanksgiving and kicks off a month-long market that rivals authentic European Christmas markets in charm and tradition.
4. Shipshewana’s Lights of Joy Buggy Parade
Where else can you see over 50 Amish buggies decorated with battery-powered Christmas lights? This unique Indiana parade combines old-world simplicity with holiday cheer in the heart of Amish country.
Horses adorned with jingle bells pull buggies hand-decorated by Amish families who make a rare exception to their modest lifestyle for this community celebration. The contrast of traditional horse-drawn transportation against twinkling lights creates a magical atmosphere you won’t find anywhere else.
During my last visit, an Amish grandfather explained they participate to share goodwill with their “English” neighbors. The parade concludes at the town’s simple tree lighting ceremony, where everyone enjoys homemade cookies and apple cider while Amish children sing hymns in Pennsylvania Dutch and English.
5. Cedarburg’s Festive Friday Elf Night Parade
Imagine hundreds of locals dressed as elves parading down a historic cedar-lined street in Wisconsin. Cedarburg’s whimsical celebration brings out the child in everyone as participants compete for titles like “Most Jingly Elf” and “Santa’s Most Helpful Helper.”
The parade route follows Washington Avenue, where century-old stone buildings house artisan shops that stay open late offering special “elf discounts.” Local firefighters dress as Santa’s reindeer and pull an antique fire truck carrying the jolly man himself.
Kids particularly love the candy cane hunt that follows in Cedar Creek Park, where elves hide thousands of treats. What makes this parade special is how the entire town commits to the theme even the local bank tellers and postal workers serve customers in pointy ears and curly-toed shoes throughout December.
6. Greenfield Village’s Holiday Nights Lantern Procession
Henry Ford’s living history museum in Dearborn, Michigan hosts a magical after-dark holiday experience culminating in a lantern-lit procession that transports visitors to Christmases past. Fife and drum corps members in Revolutionary War uniforms lead visitors through streets lined with 300 years of American holiday traditions.
Horse-drawn carriages carry carolers in period costumes from seven different eras, from colonial times through the 1940s. Each stop along the route showcases how Americans celebrated Christmas during different historical periods, with authentic music, decorations, and treats from each era.
The grand finale features Santa arriving in a vintage Model T Ford – a nod to the museum’s founder. Though tickets sell out months in advance, this immersive parade experience offers the most historically accurate holiday celebration in the Midwest, complete with chestnuts roasting on open fires and traditional wassail served in copper mugs.
7. New Ulm’s Parade of Lights and Schell’s Brewery Tour
German traditions meet Minnesota hospitality in New Ulm’s delightful evening parade featuring the town’s famous 45-foot Glockenspiel clock tower characters come to life. Local brewery workers don traditional Bavarian costumes and pull massive decorated beer wagons from the historic August Schell Brewing Company, established in 1860.
Herman the German, the town’s 32-foot monument mascot, makes an appearance as a parade float, complete with lederhosen and a massive beer stein. Children receive special pretzels shaped like the town’s iconic symbols from bakers who walk alongside the procession.
Following the parade, adults can enjoy the special holiday brewery tour featuring seasonal Bock beers, while families head to Schonlau Park for the lighting of thousands of luminarias along the river walk. The combination of German heritage, local pride, and craft brewing tradition makes this parade uniquely midwestern.
8. Santa Claus, Indiana’s Festival of Lights Parade
Yes, there’s actually a town called Santa Claus in Indiana! Their annual parade features not just one Santa, but dozens representing how Santa appears in cultures around the world. From the American Santa to Germany’s Kris Kringle to Italy’s La Befana, this unique parade celebrates global holiday traditions.
Letters addressed to Santa from children worldwide are showcased on special floats, with local postal workers dressed as elves who actually process over 400,000 Santa letters each December. The town’s postmark is sought after by collectors, and parade attendees can get special holiday mail stamped at stations along the route.
Don’t miss the gigantic Santa statues that guard the town year-round, especially delightful when covered in snow and twinkling lights. This parade happens the first weekend in December and includes a special ceremony where children can help Santa’s elves sort real Christmas mail.
9. Branson’s Adoration Parade and Nativity Lighting
Faith takes center stage in Branson, Missouri’s heartwarming Adoration Parade, which begins with the lighting of a massive nativity scene overlooking Lake Taneycomo. Unlike commercially driven events, this 70-year tradition focuses entirely on the religious meaning of Christmas.
Local church choirs form the backbone of this procession, singing traditional hymns as they walk between floats depicting biblical scenes. The highlight is always the three wise men riding live camels yes, actual camels in Missouri! followed by local shepherds guiding flocks of sheep down Main Street.
After visiting with my family last year, I was touched by how the parade ends with everyone gathering to sing “Silent Night” by candlelight. This free event happens the first Sunday in December and offers a meaningful alternative to the town’s famous commercial entertainment, showing Branson’s deep community roots beyond the tourist attractions.
10. Holland’s Sinterklaas Eve Procession
Dutch heritage comes alive in Holland, Michigan when Sinterklaas arrives by boat across Lake Macatawa, just as he does in the Netherlands. Wearing his traditional red bishop’s robe and mitre hat, he rides a white horse through downtown accompanied by the Zwarte Pieten (his helpers) who distribute pepernoten cookies to children.
Unlike American Santa parades, this one happens at dusk on the first Saturday of December. Children place wooden shoes filled with carrots for Sinterklaas’ horse outside local shops, finding them filled with treats when the parade passes by.
The town’s authentic Dutch architecture and windmills provide the perfect backdrop for this European tradition. Most charming is how local Dutch-speaking elders serve as translators for Sinterklaas as he greets children. After experiencing this celebration, you’ll understand why Holland has been recognized as one of America’s most authentic ethnic holiday celebrations.
11. Lindsborg’s St. Lucia Festival Procession
Swedish traditions take center stage in Lindsborg, Kansas known as “Little Sweden USA” during their enchanting St. Lucia procession. The celebration begins before dawn when a local girl chosen as St. Lucia leads a procession wearing a white gown and a crown of candles, symbolizing bringing light to the darkness of winter.
Townspeople follow carrying lanterns and singing Swedish carols through streets lined with traditional straw Julbock goats and Dala horse decorations. The scent of cardamom-spiced pastries fills the air as bakeries open early to offer authentic Swedish Christmas treats.
What makes this parade special is how it connects to the town’s 150-year Swedish heritage. Many participants wear traditional provincial costumes passed down through generations. The celebration continues with folk dancing demonstrations and a Swedish smörgåsbord feast featuring lutfisk and lingonberries definitely an authentic taste of Scandinavian Christmas in America’s heartland.
12. Stillwater’s Twinkle Parade and Ice Castle Opening
Perched along the scenic St. Croix River, this Minnesota town combines its Victorian Christmas parade with the grand opening of spectacular ice castles. Thousands of icicle lights drape from historic buildings as floats featuring local children as “ice princesses” and “frost kings” wind through downtown.
Unlike typical parades, this one features ice sculptors creating masterpieces in real-time on moving platforms. The grand finale is when the parade reaches the town’s famous ice castle a massive structure built from over 10,000 hand-placed icicles that’s illuminated from within using color-changing LED lights.
During my visit, I was amazed by how the entire town becomes part of the celebration, with shop owners serving special “frost bite” hot chocolate topped with edible glitter. The parade happens mid-December when the ice castle construction is complete, creating a truly magical winter wonderland experience you won’t find in warmer climates.
