Kankakee Christmas Parade shines through rain

A little rain didn’t keep Santa from spreading holiday cheer Saturday at the third annual Kankakee Christmas Parade.

Attendees sported ponchos and umbrellas along with their winter gear as they lined Schuyler Avenue to enjoy decorated floats, wave to parade participants and collect tossed treats.

The downtown festivities kicked off Saturday morning with the first-ever outdoor Mistletoe Market held in the Harold and Jean Miner Festival Square near the Kankakee Depot.

Inside the train depot, children could write a post card to Santa and color the Kankakee-themed artwork on the front, which doubled as a visual scavenger hunt, created by Bill Yohnka. Santa and Mrs. Claus were also on hand for visits.

Adding to the cheerful atmosphere, the Winter Market inside the Kankakee Public Library featured many local vendors, food and music, and the Winter Wonderland Pub Crawl was hosted by the Majestic throughout downtown Kankakee’s businesses.

The Majestic’s Winter Market also featured local vendors inside the theater and the French Heritage Museum hosted Hot Chocolate Day.

The evening ended with dozens of creatively illuminated parade entries traveling down the six-block parade route, led by this year’s grand marshal Allison Beasley, director of the Kankakee Public Library, and concluded with smiles and waves.

Santa arrived to wish all a merry Christmas.

https://daily-journal.com/news/local/kankakee-christmas-parade-shines-through-rain/article_8fd06b96-bb19-11ef-80f6-4bf8e0e9d47f.html