Nashville Christmas Parade 2018: Downtown road closures Saturday

Mariah Timms
The Tennessean

Nashville's annual Christmas Parade is set for Saturday, and will include downtown road closures around the route area. 

Downtown Nashville is set to host the parade route, beginning at 8:30 a.m. It will also be broadcast live on local television.

The parade will begin at the intersection of First Avenue North and Brandon Street, and will travel south toward Broadway, where it will turn right onto Broadway and end at Eighth Avenue North and Broadway.

Closures are expected to begin the day before, Friday, Nov. 30. 

Santa Claus, the traditional favorite, and his two helpers, wave season's greetings to some of the estimated crowd of 125,000 at the 16th annual Nashville Christmas parade Dec. 8, 1968.

Friday closures

  • All day: Fifth Avenue will be closed from Demonbreun Street to Broadway.
  • 10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Broadway will be closed from Fourth Avenue to Sixth Avenue.

Saturday closures

Saturday's closures will begin 2 a.m. and are expected to reopen on a rolling basis after the parade ends, depending on traffic. 

  • 2 a.m.-3 p.m.: Fifth Avenue will be closed to unauthorized traffic from Demonbreun to Commerce Street.
  • 2 a.m.-3 p.m.: Portions of Broadway will close to traffic from 4th Avenue to 8th Avenue.
  • 7 a.m.-noon: Portions of Broadway will begin closing to traffic from 13th to 8th Avenue.
  • 8:30 a.m.-noon: Commerce Street will be closed on the block between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue. Portions of 9th Avenue between Broadway and Commerce Street also will be closed during this period.
  • 5 a.m.-noon: Woodland Street Bridge to Interstate Drive will be closed for parade assembly.
  • 4-11 a.m.: Union Street and Brandon Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue will be closed for assembly.
  • 8 a.m.: Side streets from Demonbreun to Church Street will begin closing systematically, along with First Avenue.
  • 10-11:30 a.m.: The remaining parade route will reopen behind the last parade element on a rolling basis as the parade progresses to the corner of 8th and Broadway.

All other streets leading to the parade route are expected to be closed throughout the day based on rolling closures, with regard to volume of traffic and traffic flow, Metro Nashville Police said. 

Officials anticipate the parade will last approximately two hours. Streets will reopen immediately following the parade. 

Kevin Rankin, 5, son of Mr. and Mrs. Billie Rankin, watches the wind whip his balloons during the 16th annual Nashville Christmas parade Dec. 8, 1968.

Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.