Those flashing lights will be merry in December, as Olympia again plans holiday parades

The Olympia Police Department is partnering with other city departments for the second year to bring holiday light parades to Olympia neighborhoods.

The event was created last year to help Olympians celebrate the holiday season safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The parades feature city vehicles and holiday light shows.

This year there will be three parade routes, all happening on Thursdays:

• West Olympia on Dec. 2;
• Southeast Olympia on Dec. 9; and
• Northeast Olympia combined with the South Capitol neighborhood on Dec. 16.

Each parade will begin at 6 p.m.; the west Olympia parade will last about 90 minutes while the other two will be an hour long.

Several city departments that were involved last year will be participating this year, including the Olympia Fire Department, the Parks, Arts and Recreation Department, and Waste ReSources. This year, OPD’s Crisis Response vehicles and the Community Planning and Development Building Division also are joining the festivities.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription