Downtown holiday season kicks off with Friday parade

Downtown Seattle welcomes Santa to town with marching bands, drill teams, balloon floats and thousands of spectators at the Macy's Holiday Parade, starting at 8:45 this morning.

The festive start to the holiday season winds through downtown with more than 500 costumed characters among its more than 50 holiday-themed attractions leading to the finale, jolly old Santa himself on a float, arriving at Macy's department store amid a confetti snowstorm at the parade's conclusion.

Thousands line downtown streets for the Christmas-season kickoff event, a Seattle tradition for more than 20 years, with old favorites including holiday tunes from 18 school marching bands and cheer squads, the Mariner Moose, Seahawks mascot Blitz and the SeaGals, Seattle Sounders Band and vintage Nash Metropolitan cars decked out in holiday style by the Pacific Northwest Metropolitan Car Club.

St. Bernard dogs and their people join perennial favorites, Dalmatian and Scottish terrier clubs, as pets-in-Santa-hats crowd-pleasers, and the "Frango passers" accompanying the Frango inflatable float are always among the most popular folks in the parade, handing out samples of the chocolate treats along the parade route.

Later in the day, the traditional giant star atop Macy's is lit for the season, accompanied by a fireworks show, weather permitting. Besides shopping and visits with Santa, holiday activities to fill the time between events include the Wonderland Holiday Carousel at Westlake Park, the "Reel Christmas" movie-themed holiday Gingerbread Village at Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers, the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel and the Westlake tree lighting at 4:45 p.m. today. Winterfest at Seattle Center also opens for the season today, a short Monorail trip from downtown.

The details

Holiday Parade: 8:45 a.m. today, from Seventh Avenue and Pine Street (see map for full route).

Star Lighting: 5 p.m. today, Macy's, Fourth Avenue and Pine Street, Seattle.

Getting there: Expect delays; many downtown streets will be closed and traffic rerouted this morning and at other times during the day because of activities downtown. Parking available on the street and in paid lots and garages. Seattle Monorail information, 206-905-2620 or www.seattlemonorail.com; Sound Transit Link light-rail information, 206-398-5000 or soundtransit.org; Metro Transit information, including changes to bus routes because of street closures, 206-553-3000 or tripplanner.kingcounty.gov.

More information: 206-506-7555 or www.macys.com or www.downtownholidays.com. Seattle Center Winterfest, www.seattlecenter.com or 206-684-7200.

Madeline McKenzie: 206-464-8245 or mmckenzie@seattletimes.com