The Sunnyside community invites Pacific Northwest residents to attend the nation’s longest-running lighted farm implement parade, brought to you by local farmers at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, in downtown Sunnyside.
Sunnyside is proud of its location in the heartland of the Northwest’s most diversified agricultural region, and the Lighted Farm Implement Parade is a beautiful celebration of the Yakima Valley’s agricultural heritage. As the oldest such parade in the nation, at 36 years and still counting, it includes dozens of tractors, combines and other farm vehicles, each decorated with thousands of twinkling lights.
The parade has received attention in national news outlets and has been replicated around the country. But there’s no other lighted parade in the region on the scale of the one in Sunnyside. It has been featured on the Travel Channel and Xtreme Christmas, and was voted one of the top 10 lighted parades in the nation by A&E Television.
But you have to see it in person to fully appreciate how the event captures the spirit of a rural Christmas. With all the decorations, you may not recognize the tractors, combines, harrow beds, swathers, grape pickers, semi-trucks and horse-drawn wagons. And if it doesn’t look like a farm implement, it might be one of the unique Christmas floats that are also featured. It’s one of the best attended parades in the region, with about 25,000 spectators lining the streets in a typical year.
The parade was begun by farmers and businesspeople in 1989, and it became an annual tradition that was led by Karen Friend and Sharon and Ervin Kilian. This year’s parade has special significance, because Carter Kilian, the grandson of Sharon and Ervin, has taken the reins at New Leaf Nursery and is bringing new life to this signature Sunnyside event weekend. “We have a lot of hard-working people here,” Carter Killian said. “I hope this parade reminds everyone how strong and proud our farming roots really are.”
The weekend kicks off with a tree-lighting ceremony on Friday, Dec. 5, followed by the Kids’ Parade sponsored by the Sunnyside Events Committee. On Saturday at 4 p.m., the Sunnyside Fire Department will host its Annual Chili Feed. And from 5 to 6 on Saturday, before the big parade, an arts and crafts session will take place at the Sunnyside Mall. The Jingle Bell Run on the parade route will start at 6 p.m., sponsored by Complete Wellness.
This is the sixth year that the event will also include the Downtown Christmas Market, open from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday. You can visit with Santa, enjoy some food and complete your Christmas shopping.
The parade will begin at the corner of Barnard Blvd. and E. Edison Rd., proceed west on E. Edison, cross the Yakima Valley Highway and travel through downtown Sunnyside to Zilllah Ave., continuing onto South 1st Street. The parade will be telecast by KIMA TV in Yakima, so if you are not able to attend you can still enjoy the show.
Awards, including plaques and cash awards, will be given in each parade division, plus a Sweepstakes Award for the best entry. In recent years the parade has included more than 60 entries. Many local businesses continue to support this holiday tradition, and any surplus funds support deserving community projects.
If you want to enter the parade, or if you have questions, send email to sunnysidefarmersparade@gmail.com. For more information, including lodging choices, visit lighted-farm-parade.cometothesun.com.