The Asheville Downtown Association’s annual Asheville Holiday Parade happens from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, in downtown Asheville. The parade route runs up Biltmore Avenue to Pack Square, then turns to go down Patton Avenue.
Hundreds show up for this festive community event, so please plan ahead. There will be traffic and bus route impacts. Here is a rundown.
Street closings
South Charlotte will be closed beginning at 7 a.m. for parade entries and lineup. Pack Square (the streets of North and South Pack Square) will also close beginning at 7 a.m. for installation of WLOS Ch. 13 News cameras, hosts, parade judges, sponsor stands, and food vendors: Bojangles’ and Salsarita’s. (Funnel Cakes by Pam will be serving in Pritchard Park.)
The parade route along Biltmore and Patton will fully close at 9:30 a.m. and remain closed until the end of the parade. Some side streets need to be closed off as well. See a list of street closings here.
Pack Square will remain closed after the parade where Santa will return to visit with children, followed by the Winter Lights Downtown lighting ceremony beginning at 6 p.m.
Parking tips
Remember to check in at the City parking garages for available spots on your smartphone by accessing the Asheville App or the Find Parking responsive site that shows how many spots are available in City parking garages, in real time. As always, the first hour of parking in a City parking garage is free of charge.
ART bus detours
ART bus routes have to be detoured around the parade as well. For these reasons, the City encourages everyone to plan ahead and allow plenty of time to get downtown, whether by bus, bike, car or on foot.
The City of Asheville’s ART service (Asheville Redefines Transit) will detour due to road closures for the annual Holiday Parade and for the Winter Lights Ceremony in Pack Square through 8 p.m. The following routes will be affected by detours:
NORTH: N, N1, N2 and N3
EAST: E1, E2 and 170
SOUTH: S1, S2 and S5
WEST: W3, W4 and S5
After you have planned your trip, use NextBus to track when your bus will arrive. To better understand the detours the buses will take, visit ashevillenc.gov/Transit/ServiceAlerts or www.RideTheArt.com. Or call ART at 828-253-5691