{"id":42027,"date":"2025-11-23T00:52:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T00:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/42027\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T00:52:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T00:52:17","slug":"santa-parade-kicks-off-holiday-season-in-downtown-scranton-scranton-times-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/42027\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Parade kicks off holiday season in downtown Scranton \u2013 Scranton Times-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCRANTON \u2014 Nora King expressed excitement as Santa Claus made his way down Biden Street in a horse-drawn carriage Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s right there,\u201d Nora, 4, of Throop, exclaimed, adding that she would like a horse for Christmas.<\/p>\n

The appearance by the jolly old elf highlighted the\u00a032nd Santa Parade, which also featured floats, high school marching bands, and various other performers.<\/p>\n

Maureen Forman of Pittston attended the parade for the first time to see Wally, a therapy dog chosen as the parade\u2019s honorary grand marshal, and his owner, Brian Machowski.<\/p>\n

Machowski explained he and Wally serve as a therapy team at the Gino J. Merli Veterans\u2019 Center in Scranton and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport in Pittston Twp., and in residential hospice settings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe therapy work they do is amazing, and Brian is so nice,\u201d Forman said. \u201cIt\u2019s just such a nice gathering, I\u2019m sorry I never came before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Santa waves to a large crowd as he makes his way through the street of Scranton during the annual Santa Parade on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/p>\n

Santa waves to a large crowd as he makes his way through the street of Scranton during the annual Santa Parade on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Champ,<\/p>\n

Champ, mascot for the Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders greets an enthusiastic holiday crowd at the annual Santa Parade in Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

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Santa waves to a large crowd as he makes his way through the street of Scranton during the annual Santa Parade on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

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Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti noted that the Santa Parade on the Saturday before Thanksgiving starts the holiday fun in the city each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonday night, we will flip the lights on at Nay Aug Park, and then on Wednesday night, we\u2019ll have the tower lighting,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole lead-in to the holiday season in these next few days. The parade is a great tradition for our city. You see all the kids, all dressed up, having a great time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dancers<\/p>\n

Dancers from Occhipinti Dance Academy take part in the annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

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Dancers from Occhipinti Dance Academy take part in the annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

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Susan Luchko of Dunmore \u2014\u00a0 vice president of logistics for the Santa Parade \u2014 stressed planning for the event is a year-long process.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the parade is over, we start our meetings and start getting ready for the upcoming year \u2026 we don\u2019t stop,\u201d Luchko said. \u201cWe work on trying to get sponsors and volunteers early on.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added volunteerism has been dwindling over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish more people would come out and help, but we manage to pull it off,\u201d Luchko said. \u201cThere\u2019s a core group of seven of us on the board \u2014 it\u2019s\u00a0like a part-time job to put this whole thing together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interest in the event continues to grow as more groups look to take part in the festivities, Luchko said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year is the biggest parade we\u2019ve had to date,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have more than 1,400 participants, 108 floats, and four marching bands. It\u2019s pretty massive.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the temperature hovering around the low 40s, hoards of spectators lined the downtown streets throughout the morning. The crowds remain consistent, no matter the weather, Luchko said<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

She recalled a year in the early 2000s where there was rain, sleet, and wind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parade still went on, and people were still on the parade route,\u201d Luchko said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

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The annual Santa Parade in downtown Scranton drew large crowds to the city on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

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Joel and Kelly Perkins of Scott Twp. watched the parade with their sons, Graham, 4, and Blake, 2 \u2014 a yearly tradition for the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids like to see the floats and the marchers,\u201d Joel Perkins said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a fun thing to do on a Saturday morning. It\u2019s part of the holiday season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The parade also provides a boost for some downtown businesses.<\/p>\n

Tyler Connor, owner of DaVinci Pizza on the Square along Linden Street, decided to open early on Saturday to serve customers along the parade route.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not usually open in the mornings, but I was here around 8 a.m.,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had some hot chocolate and coffee, and we made breakfast pizza and breakfast sandwiches.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON \u2014 Nora King expressed excitement as Santa Claus made his way down Biden Street in a horse-drawn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":{"0":"post-42027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-lackawanna-county","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-scranton","13":"tag-scranton-headlines","14":"tag-scranton-news","15":"tag-top-stories-stt"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}