The holiday spirit will be on full display in Vale this month.
The Vale Christmas Light Parade begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14.
Hosted by the Vale Chamber of Commerce, this is the parade’s third year.
Karlene Keller, an organizer, said this year’s theme is “light up the night with joy,” which she called the parade’s purpose.
Keller and co-organizer Teri Doran helped start the parade in 2022 out of a love for Christmas light parades and community.
Keller said after the pandemic-era lockdowns of 2020, there was a void of events that brought the community together. So she and Doran decided to organize the Christmas Light Parade in 2022.
“We just thought it would be a good thing to have,” she said. “To bring a little more joy to Vale and put a smile on people’s faces.”
Keller said anyone is welcome to have a float in the parade. No registration is required, and the parade will be informal, according to Keller. She said anyone with a bike, truck, tractor, trailer or horse is welcome to participate.
Keller and Doran encourage people to decorate their floats, with a goal of “lots of Christmas lights.”
Doran said the parade will form at the Vale High School parking lot between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Keller said those with large farming equipment, such as tractors and trailers, are asked to stage their floats at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 135 Yakima St.
The parade route starts on Viking Drive, moves across to D Street and onto Yakima Street before it hits A Street. The parade ends at Vale City Hall, where Santa Claus will be available for photos and candy canes.
This year, Doran said, they ask parade participants not to throw candy from floats because the parade occurs at night, with limited visibility.
As it was last year, the route has been planned to pass Pioneer Place, Vale’s assisted living facility.
Keller said they want the residents at Pioneer to have an opportunity to see the floats.
Overall, she said, the idea is for “anybody and everybody to come out and enjoy a joyful, bright night.”
For more information, call 541-881-7861 or 541-519-0855.