What to know for the Sonora Christmas Parade
This year’s 38th annual Historic Downtown Sonora Christmas Parade, which seemed in limbo at times earlier this year due to the ongoing pandemic, will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, and police expect the event to bring thousands of people to downtown Sonora.
Anyone planning to attend the parade is urged by Sonora Police to arrive downtown before 5 p.m. Friday. Parking is expected to be limited, so it likely will take people longer to find legal parking spaces and get situated on the parade route.
The following streets will be closed at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will remain closed for the entire parade:
South Washington Street at Highway 108
• North Washington and South Washington Street
• Stockton Road
• Snell Street at West Bonanza Road
• Restano Way
In addition, School Street between Washington and Snell streets will be closed at 4 p.m. Friday.
Temporary no parking zones are planned from 4 p.m. Friday to the end of the parade on the length of Washington Street, from Elkin Street to Toby Lane, and on Stockton Road.
Parking will also be prohibited from 4 p.m. to the end of the parade on the following side streets: Elkin; Dodge; Jackson; Bradford; Linoberg; Theall; Church; June; Gold; Williams; Lytton; and Yaney Avenue.
The parade route along Washington Street, an extension of Highway 49 through downtown Sonora, is supposed to remain closed for about 20 minutes after the parade to allow spectators to leave without competing against motor vehicles. Sonora police say motorists can expect delays from heavy traffic — pedestrian and vehicular.
Highway 49 motorists should use Shaws Flat and Jamestown Road to bypass the parade route.
Tuolumne County Transit will operate on a special schedule for parade spectators. Call (209) 532-0404 for more information.
Having a state highway in downtown Sonora puts the City of Sonora govern
ment in the position of having to ask the state Department of Transportation for permission to use the city’s main drag for parades and other events.
The city received the approved encroachment permit from Caltrans in early October to temporarily shut down Washington Street on the night of the festivities.
City staff submitted the application on Sept. 27, one week after the Sonora City Council voted to move forward with the necessary preparations for the event as if Caltrans had already approved it.
The city began collecting applications for entries to be part of the parade on Oct. 13, with a deadline to submit by 4 p.m. Nov. 17.
No additional restrictions or
requirements related to COVID-19 were placed on the permit by Caltrans beyond the county Public Health Department’s requirement for all participants in the parade to be masked and all attendees to be asked to wear a mask and social distance.
City staff say the outdoor event has likely never exceeded the 10,000-attendee limit to be considered a “megaevent,” which would require people attending to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test under current California health orders.
The event has been staged on the day after Thanksgiving since its inception in the early 1980s, with the exception of last year’s parade being cancelled due to concerns about COVID-19.