Whether it was lowrider cars rolling and bouncing to old school jams or marching bands playing orchestral renditions of popular holiday ditties, Saturday offered good times for the thousands who attended the 2025 downtown Merced Christmas Parade.
The theme of this year’s event was the “Holiday Hit Parade,” and a massive crowd of folks dressed in Christmas costumes and attire lined both sides of West Main Street between H and O streets.
Other events were held downtown concurrently with the parade, including the Merced Holiday Mercado, where The Merced FOCUS team had a table, offering special prizes and candy canes to all who stopped by the tell us “hello.” Not far away, the Merced Firefighters held their “Not So Silent Night” event, kicking off a party that lasted into the evening with the rockin’ sounds of bands like Rear View Mirror and Four Fifteen.
Merced wasn’t the only local city to hold a Christmas parade, as Dos Palos and Los Banos held their events Thursday and Saturday respectively.
There’s still plenty of holiday fun to come in Merced County. The City of Livingston is holding its Food Truck Friday and Annual Christmas Parade at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12 on Main Street in downtown Livingston.
Floats and participants for the parade will begin lining up at 6 p.m., with the procession kicking off at 6:30 p.m. For more information contact the Livingston Recreation Department.
The Lights of Hope 5K Santa Run is scheduled to take place Saturday Dec. 13 at the Merced College Stadium 76. All proceeds benefit Merced College for Kids and the Merced Cancer Society Foundation.
Check-in begins at 3:30 p.m. and the run is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. The $40 registration fee includes a Santa suit. There will also be hot cocoa, food trucks and fun for the entire family.
Here’s a gallery of photos from Saturday’s 2025 “Holiday Hit Parade” in downtown Merced.
