After COVID hiatus last year, Tacoma Santa Parade is back Sunday, but in a new location

Allison Needles
·2 min read

The Tacoma Santa Parade is back after a COVID-19 hiatus in 2020.

The ninth edition of the Tacoma Santa Parade will be held Sunday, but instead of on Sixth Avenue, the event will be along South Tacoma Way between South 50th and 56th streets.

Al Switzer, organizer and Santa Claus for the parade, is ready for the event’s return.

“This is a comeback,” Switzer told The News Tribune via phone on Thursday. “This is people wanting to get together.”

This year, Switzer said, there are about 850 people signed up to participate in the parade. Festivities like music, food, street performers and holiday shopping along South Tacoma Way start at 2:30 p.m., and the parade starts at 4:30 p.m.

Prior to the pandemic, the parade grew year by year, from a crowd of 3,500 people in 2017, 5,500 in 2018 and 8,500 in 2019, according to Switzer.

The change of location will allow the event to grow even more in future years, Switzer said, as things were getting a little tight along Sixth Avenue.

Switzer said the event will have 15 food trucks instead of two. The extra space also allows for easier social distancing measures and more room for vendors.

Along with about 60 of Santa’s “elves” helping along the parade route, Santa will have a “road crew” in green vests to help with safety.

Switzer is from Tacoma and has been dressing as Santa since the 1980s — the past 20 years with his own hair, he joked.

In a time that can be stressful, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, Switzer looks forward to giving people some extra holiday cheer.

“I get to put smiles on faces,” he said about the job.

Switzer is already preparing for next year’s event, which will include Christmas traditions from other cultures.

“I want to make this a destination point,” Switzer said of the event.

For more information on the Tacoma Santa Parade, visit santaparadetacoma.com.

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