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Lighted Car Parade likely off for this year
Since four moms started it as a COVID-safe holiday celebration in 2020, the Lighted Car Parade has become one of the highlights (pun intended) of the Gig Harbor Christmas calendar.
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But the parade is in danger of not happening this year. In fact, it likely won’t.
The reason? The same four moms were still running the festivities. And it’s a lot more complicated than just asking people to trick out their cars and show up at Uptown on the third Saturday in December.
“We’ve asked for help,” said Kimber Lawrence, one of the four moms. “We went to a couple different nonprofits and nobody had the time or the ability, the manpower, to take it over. At this point, it’s too late to file for permits.”
The 2025 Lighted Car Parade. Photo by Chapin Day
Looking for help
Expenses associated with the parade include city permits, which the Uptown Gig Harbor shopping center helps with; a storage unit to stash things in during the rest of the year; port-a-potties; police for traffic control; and more.
There’s also the matter of how much time it takes to organize the parade. Planning starts months in advance.
It may still be possible to rescue the event for 2026, if a group comes forward. Lawrence and her friends — Melissa Oman, Robyn Denson and Paula Zenobio — stand ready to help.
“This parade started with four moms who simply wanted to create something positive for the community during a difficult time,” Zenobio, who works as the tenant coordinator at Uptown Gig Harbor, said in a news release. “We are incredibly grateful for how it has grown and for everyone who has supported it over the years. Our hope is that an organization with the capacity and resources to manage the event will be interested in continuing the tradition.”
Any group or person willing to take on the event can email the foursome at [email protected] for more information.
The 2025 Lighted Car Parade. Photo by Chapin Day
Parade keeps getting bigger
The Lighted Car Parade started during the days of social distancing and COVID-canceled events. Families missed out on some traditional holiday celebrations during December 2020.
“I just thought, we’ve got to do something,” Lawrence said. “People can sit in their car and watch decorated cars go by. That’s so COVID-safe, it’s not even funny.”
That first year, on short notice, some 60 cars showed up to participate in a driving rainstorm. It’s only gotten bigger since.
Car clubs and individual drivers put a lot of creativity into their entries. Inflatables, holiday lights and Santas sprouted from every conceivable angle off sedans, SUVs and pick-ups.
The parade became a food drive, with the Kiwanis Club collecting toys and food for Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank. It helps sustain the food bank in the immediate aftermath of Christmas.
It also became a big driver for businesses, particularly in the Uptown Gig Harbor shopping center. The owner of Fondi Pizza told Lawrence that the Lighted Car Parade is often the pizzeria’s busiest night of the year.
The 2025 Lighted Car Parade. Photo by Chapin Day
The Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce is among the organizations that considered trying to take on the parade. But given that the chamber already puts together and participates in several other Christmas-themed events, “it just wasn’t the right fit for us,” CEO Miriam Battson said.
“It’s hard to say which direction it should go from here. I know it’s been a fan favorite within the community. It brings so much joy to people who come to the Uptown area,” Battson said.
Lawrence expressed regret over needing to pull back from organizing the parade, a regret shared by the thousands of people who have turned out to watch over the years.
“I think people understand our plight, why we can’t do it this year. But they don’t like it,” Lawrence said.