Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen has announced the return of the annual “Home for the Holidays Tour” featuring Santa Claus during the first weekend of December.
Jensen
“The Home for the Holidays Tour will be back and bigger than ever this year,” Jensen said. “This tour encompasses a large part of Noblesville, as last year it covered over 110 lane miles.”
The city has identified six routes that cover the areas of Noblesville. Jensen said one route – the downtown portion – will be the traditional parade route.
“While we have had a route that covered the Downtown Noblesville area in past years, we will be including the traditional downtown parade route this year,” Jensen said. “The downtown tour also will include not-for-profits and community groups. As our community grows, we want to honor our past traditions as well as create new ones for the nearly 70,000 residents who call Noblesville home. We hope this will allow those who wish to see Santa in their neighborhood as well as those who wish to gather with friends and family downtown a great opportunity to do so. We are excited for Santa Claus to spread holiday cheer across Noblesville once again on Dec. 3 and 4.”
The “Home for the Holidays Tour” will be split by the White River. Three routes, including the traditional parade route, will be held east of the river on Saturday, Dec. 3. The first tour will begin at 9 a.m. and the traditional downtown parade will be held at 2 p.m. Another three routes will be held Sunday, Dec. 4 west of the White River.
Routes are still being designed and will be announced in the coming weeks.
Due to COVID-19 cases and public health concerns, several changes were made to the city’s holiday events in 2020. The “Home for the Holidays Tour” with Santa Claus and several city departments including the police, fire, street, engineering, utilities and parks vehicles was created as a way to take Santa to the people and thank first responders and essential workers. Instead of hosting a large gathering, Santa made his way throughout Noblesville neighborhoods.
“The pandemic made us be creative to keep the holiday spirit alive,” Jensen said. “In the four years prior to the change, organizers saw a decline in parade participants and attendance. By changing the format, we immediately saw larger crowds of enthusiastic residents that really enjoyed the new plan, and we heard positive feedback from many residents who otherwise would not have been able to participate at an offsite location. Each year since, we’ve tried to take Santa and the ‘Home for the Holidays Tour’ to more people and neighborhoods.”
The “Home for the Holidays Tour” is part of the city’s seasonal celebration. Holidays at the Hill returns to Federal Hill Commons starting Saturday, Nov. 19. The holiday tradition in the City of Noblesville includes an ice-skating rink, walking light tour, carriage rides and holiday market. The Lights Over Seminary holiday display will begin Dec. 2 as part of the First Friday events taking place in Downtown Noblesville.
Not-for-profits and community groups interested in participating in the traditional downtown parade route or any of the neighborhood routes, free of charge, may visit cityofnoblesville.org/parade.
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