Every year in Jefferson City · December

Jefferson City Jaycees Christmas Parade

Floats built by Jefferson City people, high school bands playing carols, and candy for anyone who brought a bag. The Jaycees have been doing it for more than 80 years.

When: The first Saturday in December, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Downtown: east on High Street from Missouri Boulevard to Lafayette Street, then north on Lafayette.
Cost: Free
Who runs it: The Jefferson City Jaycees

The next one

We haven't seen a confirmed date for 2026 yet.

The last one was Saturday, December 7, 2024. Usually: First Saturday in December, 4:30 p.m.

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What it is

The Jaycees Christmas Parade is how the season starts downtown: dozens of floats made by Jefferson City people, local bands playing carols, and candy for anyone who brought a bag. It comes down High Street at 4:30 on the first Saturday in December.

It has a long history. The Jefferson City Jaycees held the 85th annual parade in 2024.

Every parade has a theme: A Musical Christmas in 2022, and Christmas Through the Decades for the 82nd.

What to expect

The route in 2022 and 2024 ran east on High Street from Missouri Boulevard to Lafayette Street, then north on Lafayette. In 2022 it went on west along East Capitol Avenue and finished at the Truman Building parking lots.

Bands from local high schools, Fatima, Blair Oaks and Helias among them, have marched in it.

It pairs with Living Windows, which fills the same stretch of High Street the night before.

Good to know

Get there early for a good spot along High Street, and bring a bag for candy.
High Street parking closes ahead of the parade: in 2022, from 3 p.m., between Monroe and Broadway.
Want to be in it? The Jaycees take float entries ahead of the parade.