ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Halloween decorations may have only just come down, but that will not stop some people in the area from thinking about and planning the upcoming Christmas holiday.
The 2025 Downtown Christmas Parade will be Saturday, Dec. 6, with everything going through downtown, and the theme for this year is 'Oh What Fun It Is to Ride.' This year's parade route will be going from south to north – participants will line up and start at Trail Street (by the railroad tracks), go north and then turn off at 6th Street. The parade will start at 6:30 that evening,
This year marks the parade’s 25th iteration, and coordinator Earl Watt said he hopes to see many floats signed up for this year’s fun.
“Something I would love to see with this year's parade is if you have a golf cart, decorate it all up and enter it this year. A lot of parades I've seen have featured several golf carts, and with this year's theme being what it is, I'd love to see a lot of golf carts and ATVs and those types of vehicles in going up Kansas Ave. in this parade,” Watt said. “We always have a lot of cars and floats, but I'd love to see some golf carts decked out. We're also going to be partnering with the City of Liberal that night, they're going to be sharing some proposals and concepts in City Hall for Adventure Bay Water Park and take some ideas of what can be done with that, and that's something new. One good reason to put a float together is it's a fun team-building experience, and the parade is a great family and community event that's a great way to kick off the holiday season. The day of the parade, Thanksgiving will have just gotten done, and the parade is a great night to roll in and be part of the first major community holiday celebration. The floats themselves don't have to be super fancy or on the level of the Macy's parade – if you can do that, great, but it's not required. If you want to decorate your car or trailer, or if you want to just ride through the parade and advertise your group or business, that's great too.”
The main goal is to help bring the community together to help celebrate the holidays, Watt said.
“The parade is open to all, and we welcome veteran float entrants and new entrants. The parade is only as good as the people of Liberal want it to be – the more care and effort put forth, the better it will be,” Watt said. “I've been really impressed with the floats throughout the past few years, we've seen so much creativity from everyone who's participated. We've had individuals and civic groups and businesses put together some amazing floats throughout the years, and I hope to see that continue for this year. I'm surprised every year because everyone brings something new and creative, and it's always fun to see what people come up with.”
Watt added it is also a good idea to get signed up sooner rather than later.
“It's always good to get a plan going and get those ideas flowing so you can actually start putting everything together and have it fully ready by the day of the parade. Holiday time is also a great crafty time since people like to put decorations all around their homes and all of that, and putting a float together takes things to the community level,” Watt said. “Not everyone can visit your home and see your living room decorations, but people can see your creativity if you're driving on Kansas Ave. if you're driving a decked out float or vehicle. Go ahead and get committed so you fully know what you'll be doing and have everything done for the parade. There have been multiple people who have really stepped up and done a great job in putting together amazing-looking floats for the parade each year, and I'm looking forward to seeing how people interpret this year's theme. Even though November just started and the parade seems like it's a long time away, go ahead and start thinking about what you want to do as far as design and all of that, and go ahead and commit. I emphasize this every year, there is absolutely no cost to enter a float in the parade, and you might even come away with some prizes that night. Everyone at the parade is going to be looking at your float, so why not do it in style and help people in the community feel that holiday spirit? You get to bring some of that joy of the season to everyone, so absolutely don't wait until the day before the parade, start thinking about it all now and how you'd put everything together.”
Watt said he would love to see more local businesses have a float and more performance floats.
“We do have a Commercial float category with our prizes, and again, it's totally free to enter a float. The business owner will get to drive on Kansas Ave. on a float with their business's name on it and have several hundred people looking at it all at the same time. It's very attention-getting, and they get to showcase how they're part of the community. It's a great opportunity for any business who wants to do a bit of free and easy advertising, and they might even come away with some prize money,” Watt said. “A challenge with getting the school groups involved is the weekend we have the parade always seems to coincide with the honor band event, and Liberal typically has good representation there. But we'd definitely like to see more performing floats – if you've got a church choir or someone who likes to sing and wants to do a song when they're stopped in front of the stage, we'd love to see that.”
Along with the parade itself, Watt said he and other coordinators are also taking sign-ups for pre-parade entertainment.
“The pre-parade entertainment is always more of an open mic deal, but we do have to know you're planning on performing so we can have the sound system and everything else set up properly, and anyone interested in that can call the Leader & Times at (620) 626-0840 or email
Overall, Watt said, he is hoping for a big parade to mark the parade’s big milestone.
“We definitely want to see as many floats as possible entered for this year, and we want as many people as possible to participate. Come out with the rest of the community and start your Christmas celebrations with the parade,” Watt said. “Liberal really goes all out along Kansas Avenue with the decorations because the businesses put their Christmas products in the windows, the City of Liberal staff puts special lights on the lamp posts, and the Chamber of Commerce has had its Wrap-A-Lamp competition for a few years now, so the lamp posts are also all decorated up. Liberal is a Christmas town and everyone goes all out, and I always say it's not really Christmas unless the parade happens, because so many people are involved in making it happen.”
