The Festival of Lights Parade Turns 50, and Los Altos Volunteers Still Push the Floats

In 1977, Ken Haukom was working for the City of Los Altos Department of Public Works when word came in "about folks who want to have a small parade on Thanksgiving evening." He helped set up that first downtown parade, and he remembers roughly four or five "push-floats" built by volunteers. The Los Altos Town Crier recounted his story ahead of the 48th parade. That parade's lineup had 62 entries, including eight marching bands and 23 floats.

On Sunday, Nov. 29, the Los Altos Festival of Lights Parade holds its 50th edition, starting at 6 p.m. at First and State. The parade is far bigger than it was in 1977, but it is still built the same way. The city closes the streets and sends police. Neighbors build the floats, and spectators pay for them.

The city provides the street, and donations pay for the floats

The parade began with three downtown merchants, Hope Higbee, Marion Jackston and Jack Huston, along with their friends Bob Grimm, Ed Hilton and Ted Johnston. The Los Altos Village Association ran it for a few years. In 1981 a group of community members founded the Los Altos Festival of Lights Association, and it has produced the parade as an all-volunteer effort since then. The parade also moved from Thanksgiving evening to the Sunday night after Thanksgiving, which is where it stays this year.

The Los Altos City Council designated the parade a Heritage Event, so the city provides the police, infrastructure and waste management services that organizers have said they could not do without. Everything you actually watch is paid for separately. The association's FAQ says that building, repairing and renovating the floats and costumes is "funded solely by private donations." Its about page adds that funding comes from community grants and donations from spectators.

The floats have a home of their own. Haukom told the Town Crier that early floats were kept in volunteers' garages until 1992, when a warehouse opened in the city's corporation yard and gave the association year-round storage. The floats stored there are still maintained by volunteers. The association's support page thanks a long list of helpers, from the Packard Foundation and Kavanagh Construction to HAM radio operators and MVLA SLOBS.

Volunteers do the work, on parade night and for months before it

The theme has been the same for years: "A Child's Holiday Fantasy," with floats, local high school marching bands and costumed characters covered in thousands of lights, and Santa with his reindeer at the end. Before the 48th parade, longtime volunteer and organizer Nancy Schneider told the Town Crier that the theme takes more than 125 volunteers behind the scenes. They move floats to the staging area, repair lights, maintain costumes, help characters with costumes and makeup, organize the entrants, and push or drive the floats along the route. The new float that year was based on "Alice in Wonderland."

In the Town Crier's recap of the 49th parade, association co-president Nora Haley said more than 150 volunteers worked on parade night alone. Winnie the Pooh and The Wizard of Oz were in the lineup, and Santa got the loudest response of the night. Haley described how wide the work is:

"We had community members who prepped the floats prior to the start of the parade (checking that all systems were 'go'), pushed and/or drove the floats, wore the costumes and those who helped the characters into their costumes, checked the lights on each of the costumes, and helped with overall set up and clean up."

At the end of the same interview she looked ahead to this year, telling the Town Crier that the 2026 event would be the 50th parade, "so the community can look for some truly special touches throughout the parade!"

Most of the work happens long before parade night. The association's volunteer page lists Saturday work parties from September through November to maintain and refurbish floats. It also asks for costume makers and helpers, and for day-of float pushers, drivers, staging help and security.

The 50th anniversary appeal asks for $50

Because donations pay for the floats and costumes, the anniversary fundraising matches the occasion. The parade's fund is held through the Los Altos Community Foundation as the Los Altos Festival of Lights Parade Fund, and this year's appeal is "Celebrate 50 Years, Give $50." The fund page describes the request as a $50 gift "to keep the Festival of Lights Parade shining bright." The parade's homepage has the same message beside the date: be part of history, donate, and come to the 50th parade on Nov. 29.

A parade that began with a handful of push-floats now asks each spectator for one modest donation to keep about two dozen lighted floats repaired for another year.

What to expect on parade night

The association publishes its schedule as estimates.

1. 4:00 p.m. The downtown triangle bordered by San Antonio Road, Edith Avenue and First Street closes. Downtown access from Foothill Expressway at Main Street also closes on parade day.
2. 6:00 p.m. The parade starts at First and State.
3. 6:20 to 6:30 p.m. The first floats reach First and Main.
4. 6:45 to 7:00 p.m. The first floats reach the end of the route.
5. 7:20 to 7:45 p.m. The final floats reach the end of the route.

For the 48th parade, the Town Crier described the route this way: start at First and State, go down State Street to Main Street, across First Street, down Whitney Avenue and across Third Street. Check losaltosparade.org for any changes to that route for the 50th.

The viewing guidelines ask spectators to watch from sidewalks and intersections, stay out of the roadway and keep away from the front of parklets. They also say you may not leave chairs or other items to hold a spot before noon on parade day. The FAQ recommends the end of the route along Whitney as the least crowded area, where you can often find a good view even if you arrive at the last minute.

Accessible parking is in Plaza North, between Third and Fourth streets behind Wells Fargo. Enter from Edith at Third, and the association advises against crossing Main Street. Watch the weather that day. If rain is forecast, the association will post by noon on its website and social media whether the parade is going ahead, and there is no rain date. If you can't be there, the association has posted a replay of the 2025 parade on its homepage.

The other holiday events take place around the parade weekend

The Los Altos Village Association ran the parade for a few years before the volunteer association took over. Its 2026 events fall before and after the parade, and the first comes more than two weeks ahead:

• Friday, Nov. 13, 5 to 9 p.m. The 23rd Annual Holiday Stroll fills downtown with lights, strolling carolers, shopping specials and restaurant dinners. The association's event page lists the 2026 participating shops and musicians as still to be announced.
• Saturday, Nov. 28. Small Business Saturday falls the day before the parade. Stop by Veterans Community Plaza at Main and State between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to pick up "something special" for shopping local.
• Sunday, Nov. 29, 6 p.m. The 50th Festival of Lights Parade.
• Friday, Dec. 4, 6 to 8 p.m. The Holiday Tree Celebration at Veterans Community Plaza features music and performances by local students, trolley car rides around downtown, and Santa, who will pose for pictures until 8 p.m. Bring your own camera.
• Sunday, Dec. 6, 2 to 5 p.m. Up the hill, the Town of Los Altos Hills holds its Westwind Community Barn lighting, with Santa, activities, refreshments and a countdown to the 5 p.m. lighting.
• Thursdays, Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, 4 to 8 p.m. The Holiday Market on State Street is a European-style night market with live music, visits from Santa and gifts from local vendors.

Most of these events take an evening and a short walk downtown. The parade is the only one that depends on months of Saturday work parties and on more than 150 people working on the night itself.

At Kathleen Pasin, we love evenings like this one, when downtown Los Altos fills with people who have helped build the parade for years. If the 50th parade is the night you start thinking about your own next chapter here, I would be glad to sit down with you. Request a complimentary home valuation, and we can talk over coffee once the last float reaches Third Street.