Twain Harte Christmas Parade Making Triumphant Return

Twain Harte, CA — Members of the Twain Harte Community are working hard to bring back the annual Christmas Parade next month.

It was a staple in the community for 35 years, and several longtime residents were very disappointed when it was canceled in 2023, as the former committee that put it on was concerned about the logistics and increasing amount of traffic it had been drawing.

Dawn Cronin was among the locals who were adamant about seeing it return.

She explains, “There was a group of people who decided to march on the night of the parade last year, in lieu of the actual parade, and I showed up with my clipboard and took names and numbers of people who were very passionate about the parade. We formed a group of volunteers from there and broke off into committees. We have a decorating committee, and we have a logistics committee, and a marketing committee. We later realized in these meetings that we also needed some funding to do the things that we wanted to do.”

For example, money would be needed for aspects like parking shuttles and announcer stations.

A notable financial gift was given by the Twain Harte Homeowners, and Nate’s Tree Service and Nate’s Saw Shop also generously kicked in some money.

The Twain Harte Area Chamber of Commerce stepped up as a partner so that the event could be covered under the organization’s insurance.

However, the group was still lacking about $1,000 needed to put on the parade, so Cronin reached out to Tuolumne County Supervisor Anaiah Kirk, who then contacted the Sonora Area Foundation, which provided the final amount needed to get over the finish line.

Kirk says, “I knew we could not let the parade slip away from Twain Harte for a second year in a row. The businesses and community really benefit from it and Christmas does not seem the same without it. I picked up the phone and called the Sonora Area Foundation, who agreed (and donated $1,000) and we are so thankful for their generosity.”

With everything falling into place, the parade will be held Friday, December 6.

Christmas caroling will start at 5:30pm, downtown, featuring Summerville High School’s Jazz@8.

The tree lighting will be at six o’clock and the parade will start immediately after.

Instead of staging in the park, the parade will start this year from the Twain Harte School.

Some of the former parade committee members are involved in the revived effort.

The parade is free to enter and applications are still being accepted. Click here for more information.