Nashville Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting: Everything You Need To Know

NASHVILLE, TN — The Music City will ring in the Christmas season with the official Christmas tree lighting Friday night and the 63rd annual Christmas parade Saturday morning.

Here's what you need to know.

Christmas Tree Lighting

• Where: Public Square, in front of the Metro Courthouse
• When: The events begin at 6 p.m Friday. The event is free and family-friendly
• Performances: The headliner for the event is break-out trad-country sensation Margo Price, whose album "Midwest Farmer's Daughter" really makes the critics feel alright. There will also be songs from the West End United Methodist Church, W.O. Smith School and Nashville School of the Arts choirs. Mascots Booster and Gnash from the Nashville Sounds and Predators, respectively, will also be on hand. Free hot drinks will be provided.
• RSVP: No tickets are required, but folks wanting to attend are asked to RSVP on Eventbrite.
• The Tree: It took awhile for Metro Parks to find the right Norway spruce, but a 35-footer was located just in time.

63rd Annual Piedmont Natural Gas Nashville Christmas Parade

• Where: The parade begins at Seventh Avenue, travels down Broadway, turning on Second and ending at the Woodland Street Bridge.
• When: The parade steps off at 9 a.m. Saturday and is scheduled to finish at 11:30.
• Theme: "The Musical Mile." Though the actual parade route is a little more than three-quarters of a mile, the musical line-up won't fall short, with live performances from Jo Dee Messina, Aaron Tippin, Ty Herndon, Gavin DeGraw and more. Those performances will be in the "Performance Zone" near Bridgestone Arena, where extremely limited ticketed seating is available for $50-$65.
• Grand Marshal: Nashville resident and original "American Idol" champion Kelly Clarkson will join the illustrious list of grand marshals, which have included such luminaries as Alex Haley, Wilma Rudolph and 39 country music acts.
• Parking: Arriving early and planning to stay late is usually a good strategy for the parade, largely because of the parking crunch, which is only exacerbated by the construction boom downtown. The usual lots — the library, the Music City Center and the various private lots — will be open as usual but are liable to fill up quickly. Street parking, if it can be found, is also an option.
• Road closures: Road closures begin Friday, as Fifth Avenue between Broadway and Demonbreun will be closed all day and portions of Broadway between Fourth and Sixth will be closed sporadically between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. As for Saturday, Fifth between Demobreun and Commerce will be closed between 2 a.m. and 1 p.m.. Broadway will be closed between Fourth and Sixth between 4 a.m. and 4 p.m.. Portions of Broadway will be closed from 16th to 1st between 5 and 8:30 a.m., with cross-traffic allowed at Sixth until 8:45. Commerce between 8th and 9th and 9th between Commerce and Broadway will be closed from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Twelfth between Demonbreun and Porter will be closed from 5 a.m. to 9:30. All of Broadway from Eighth to 16th will be closed from 5 a.m. to noon. Side streets from Demonbreun to Church, along with Second Avenue, will begin closing at 6 a.m. Woodland Street from the bridge to Interstate Drive will close at 8 a.m. The parade route will re-open on a rolling basis behind the final float starting at 10 a.m. Streets leading to the parade route are likely to be closed based on traffic volume and flow needs throughout the duration of the parade.
• Weather: Temperatures should be in the low 40s during the parade, with 5 mph winds and no rain.
• Broadcast: Find the road closures confusing? Don't want to deal with the parking? WKRN will broadcast the parade live and then rebroadcast Sunday morning. Hey, it's not like the Titans are playing this weekend.

Image via Piedmont Natural Gas Nashville Christmas Parade