The Historic Paramount Theatre
Abilene's Landmark Theatre

Event Calendar

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The Paramount Theatre is a multi-use facility and home to the Paramount Theatre’s diverse programming, as well as a myriad of rental events hosted by organizations throughout the Big Country. Our complete Event Calendar below contains all public events scheduled in the facility. Some dates being held for private events do not appear on the main calendar listing.

Back to All Events

DOWNTOWN CHRISTMAS

  • The Historic Paramount Theatre 352 Cypress Street Abilene, TX, 79601 United States (map)

Parade of Lights

Downtown Abilene's Parade of Lights is a holiday tradition the City of Abilene is proud to host the night of December 2, 2025 with a parade start of 6:30 p.m. 

Here you'll find everything you need to know as a parade participant or spectator.

Event Information

The Parade of Lights will be held the evening of Tuesday, December 2, 2025 in Downtown Abilene, and begin at 6:30 p.m.

Close to 20,000 people traditionally come downtown to enjoy the sights and sounds of the night, cheer on participants, and wave hello to Santa Claus as he makes an early-season visit to the Big Country and close out the parade.

Friends and neighbors unable to make it downtown to see the parade for themselves can watch a live stream of it on the City of Abilene's YouTube page. All area media partners will also be welcome to record or broadcast the parade from the corner of North 6th and Walnut at Abilene City Hall (media partners see below for more information).

Food Truck Locations

Location 1: North 3rd & Walnut

  • Crazy Corn

  • Black Ice

  • Urban Street Food

Location 2: North 4th & Pine

  • Nobilitea

  • Sherrod's Craft BBQ

Location 3: North 5th & Walnut at City Hall

  • Naomi's Tienditas

  • The Farmhouse Abi

  • Heart's BBQ

  • La Aguila

  • Tacolate

Parade Route

The 2025 Parade of Lights will continue to use the modified Downtown Parade route of North 1st to Walnut, west on North 6th, and south on Pine. The parade begins and ends at the North 1st and Pine underpass, with parade staging in South Downtown Abilene (SoDA District).

The Walnut and Pine parade route has been in use during the Cypress Street Improvement Project that began in the spring of 2024. Construction on Cypress Street Project is on schedule for a return to the traditional Pine and Cypress parade route in 2026.

A map of the route (PDF) shows the changes.

Downtown and Parade Parking

There are a number of free parking lots available in Downtown Abilene and during the Parade of Lights.

  • Two lots on North Second Street and Cedar Street by the Abilene Public Library.

  • A lot at Pine Street and North Second Street by the former location of the Abilene Reporter-News.

  • Two lots at North Second Street and Mesquite Street, near Lone Star Dry Goods and Frontier Texas!

  • The Abilene Convention Center parking lot located at North 7th Street and Pine Street.

  • The City Hall employee parking lot opens to free public parking at 5 p.m.

There is also a paid parking lot on Cypress Street by the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, managed by ParkMobile.

Please note: City of Abilene Public Works will begin closing downtown streets to traffic at 5 p.m. on December 2 in preparation for the parade, and street barriers will not be removed until the parade concludes and pedestrian traffic is minimized. If you park in a lot accessible only by a street that has been closed for the parade, you will not be able to drive out of the lot until the end of the parade and street barriers are removed. Check out the Downtown Abilene Parade Route map above to see where street barriers will be placed.

Media Staging

Any area media partner is welcome to stream or televise the Parade of Lights from Downtown Abilene.

A designated media area with raised viewing and additional lighting will be available at the corner of North 6th and Walnut. A designated area for close-up, street-view recording of the parade will also be made available. 

In order to protect the safety of parade participants, spectators, and the media, neither the media or any member of the public unassociated with a registered parade participant will be allowed to travel into the path of the parade or walk along side floats to obtain photos or video of the parade.

Media outlets interested in utilizing the designated media areas for recording, live streaming, or broadcasting the parade will need to contact the City of Abilene Communications & Marketing Department via email at mediarequest@abilenetx.gov by Tuesday, November 25, 2025.

Earlier Event: November 26
THEATRE CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Later Event: December 3
Private Event