T’was one month before the holidays and all through Downtown, every creature was stirring as magic was all around! We are so excited for everyone to experience all the fun Downtown Sioux City has to offer this holiday season! Early each year, festive community members come together to discuss how they’re breathing life and light into the streets of downtown during the holidays, and this year we expect it to be bigger and brighter than ever.

One of our biggest events of the year is the Downtown Sioux City Holiday Lighted Parade. The Holiday Lighted Parade is special for many reasons. In addition to being the only lighted parade in Sioux City, what people usually don’t know is that the parade is a competition! Each entry is competing for the chance to win. We recruit secret judges to score each float, and the winning float receives a cash prize from Downtown Partners. There are six total winners with prizes given out to first, second, and third place in the for-profit and nonprofit categories. The parade is free to enter and truly is one of the greatest showcases of community. The parade concludes with Santa Claus lighting the holiday tree and commemorating the start of the season! We are so grateful to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for sponsoring the parade each year and helping us create core memories for all ages.

The night of the parade also kicks off the Holiday Storefront Decorating Competition! Downtown businesses and surrounding nonprofits create picturesque winter scenes in their storefronts throughout November and December. After the parade, check out each storefront and vote for your favorite. The storefront with the most votes will receive a $500 donation to the nonprofit of its choice! To see all the participating storefronts or to cast your vote, visit downtownsiouxcity.com.

Last year we introduced two new furry faces to the lawn of the Public Museum – Holly and Jolly, our holiday polar bears! They are in front of the giant holiday tree ready to greet you with a smile! Snap a picture with Holly & Jolly and tag Downtown Partners – Sioux City on social media so we can share your holiday cheer! We also encourage you to visit our holiday displays in Pearl Street Park, you may find a photo op or two.

Throughout the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we once again want to stress the importance of supporting small businesses. The owners are your friends and neighbors working hard to support their families, while providing goods and services to you! We have plenty of small business owners excited to help you find the perfect gifts for your loved ones this year (and maybe one or two things for yourself).

We always have something exciting happening downtown, especially during the holiday season. Be sure to sign up for our weekly E-blast to have all the fun holiday events sent right to your inbox so you don’t miss out on the magic of Downtown.