There will be road closures and detours during the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 7, for the Town of Lexington Christmas Parade in downtown Lexington. The changes were announced in a press release from Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green.

The road closures and detours will begin at 1 p.m. with the closure of West Butler Street, from Columbia Avenue to North Church Street. Additional closures include Haygood Avenue and part of Meetze Street to allow those involved in the parade to stage and prepare their floats.

The Lexington County Extension Office parking lot, located at 605 West Main Street, will be closed throughout the day for float setup and staging.

The Christmas Parade will use the route of Haygood Avenue to West Main Street/US-1 to North Lake Drive/SC-6. The best view of this parade will be along West Main Street from Haygood Avenue to the intersection of Main Street at Lake Drive.

To prepare for the 3:00 p.m. start of the Christmas Parade, West Main Street, from Columbia Avenue to North Lake Drive, East Main Street at Harmon Street, North Lake Drive at Dreher Street, and South Lake Drive at Fort Street, will close at 2:45 p.m. All traffic will be detoured away from downtown Lexington until the event is complete.

Main Street/US-1 should re-open at approximately 5:00 p.m. West Butler Street, from Columbia Avenue to South Church Street, will remain closed until all parade floats and participants have been cleared from the roadway.

As a reminder, the Lexington Police Department will be accepting new toys for the Toys for Tots “Pack the Pontoon” campaign with officers and V.I.P.S. collecting toys from parade attendees as the towed pontoon boat slowly travels the parade route during the event. It is advised that attendees arrive early to find a parking space and seating along the parade route as this is always a well-attended event. Find parking in public parking lots near the event as those who park in private business parking lots take the risk of being towed from the property at the owner’s expense. Note that there will be no street side parking on either side of South Church Street, Hendrix Street, or Elm Street near downtown Lexington.

Follow the Lexington Police Department on Facebook and X for the latest updates.