Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Begins at 6:20 p.m. at the corner of College Ave. and State St.

Description & TV Broadcast
 

The Appleton Downtown Christmas Parade is the largest nighttime parade in the Midwest. Last year's parade drew approximately 80,000 spectators to Downtown Appleton. Additionally, a television audience of over 100,000 views the parade live and during rebroadcasts on WFRV-TV, Channel 5, Green Bay, WI and WJMN-TV, Channel 3, Escanaba, MI. At this point, two rebroadcasts are scheduled. Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., and Dec. 25 at 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.

To celebrate the Christmas season, the company Appleton will sponsor the 2nd Annual City of Appleton Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in City Park at approximately 7:45 p.m. immediately following the parade. The event will include performances by the Appleton Boychoir, a community sing-along and a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony led by Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna. The company invites the public to attend.

Limit on participants. Due to the unpredictable weather this time of year, we must limit the parade to 80 units. The Appleton Downtown Christmas Parade has become so popular that we cannot always accommodate everyone who wishes to enter. Regardless, we encourage all entries and attempt to include as many as possible. Units are strongly encouraged (but not required) to use the theme “Christmas Dreams”. Several guidelines have been set to help the selection committee determine final entries. They are as follows:

1. Applicants will be accepted in the following commercial and non-commercial categories:
   a) Floats
   b) Bands
   c) Animals (including carriages, horse-drawn vehicles and animal walking units)
   d) Vehicles (single units, including cars, trucks, buses, etc.)
   e) Walking Units
    
2. All entries must be of a non-commercial Christmas theme and be decorated accordingly. This parade is designed to entertain families, especially children. It is not a commercial endeavor. The ADI Parade Committee will eliminate any entry not in compliance. Therefore, floats are encouraged to display their name or sponsor on the float in a non-commercial manner.
    
3. No entry can display Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus. ADI will provide the Santa and Mrs. Claus. (More than one Santa confuses the children.)
   
   
4.  Applications must be received on or before September 29, 2008.
    
5. A detailed description of your entry must accompany the application. The Parade Committee acceptance will depend on the detailed description of your entry. This also enables the committee to line up the best possible parade. This information must be received no later than November 2nd.
    
6. Your acceptance in the 38th Annual Appleton Downtown Christmas Parade will be confirmed via mail/e-mail on or before October 8, 2008. Those entries that are not accepted will also be notified.
    

Policy
 

The parade committee does not allow anything to be thrown or handed to spectators on the sidelines. We must take this stance for safety purposes and any group in violation may be removed from the parade list in the following years. This rule will be strictly enforced.

For other rules, download this PDF.

Trophies
 

As is tradition, three traveling trophies will be awarded to the best entries in the following categories:

1. The Appleton Downtown Inc. Trophy – Best Commercial Entry
2. The Christmas Parade Trophy – Best Non-Commercial Entry
3. The Bernie Pearlman Memorial Trophy – Best Entry “In the Eyes of a Child”

Contacts
 

Please contact Mary Ann Wepfer or Djuanna Hugdahl at the ADI Office at (920) 954-9112 if you have any questions about the 2008 Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade. Information is also available at www.appleton.org or at www.wfrv.com.