"Wild with excitement." That's how the Bowling Green Daily News described the city five days before its 1935 "Great Santa Claus Parade." Daily News managing editor Wes Swietek found the phrase while digging through the paper's archives for a history of local Christmas parades published last December. The 1935 parade is the earliest one he could find a record of. That's about two decades before the Bowling Green-Warren County Jaycees parade began. WNKY dates the Jaycees tradition to 1956.
This year the Jaycees are calling their parade the 70th, and the theme is "Christmas Through the Decades." It's set for Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, in downtown Bowling Green. The parade, the Fountain Square lighting before it, and the downtown crowd after it still run in the order the city settled on almost a century ago. Light Up BGKY now stretches that order across seven days.
Fountain Square Lit Up Before Anyone Marched
According to the Daily News archive, the tree came before the parade. In 1927, the paper reported a "Community Christmas Tree program" in the business district that drew a "very large crowd." A 1930 article covers a city tree lighting at Fountain Square Park. The Kentucky-Tennessee Light & Power Company donated the electricity for the tree and for 254 colored lights hung on the light standards around the square.
The parade came after that, and it was a business event from the start. Local businesses and the chamber of commerce sponsored the 1935 parade. The chamber asked stores to stay open until 10:30 that night to serve the expected crowds. The parade ran on Saturday, Dec. 14, led by bands from Western State Teachers College and Bowling Green High School. Crowds favored a sled pulled by Alaskan Huskies and Santa in a sleigh pulled by three reindeer. Afterward, one store had to lock its doors from time to time to keep from overcrowding.
Here's how the crowds grew, as the Daily News recorded them:
- 1935: City police, with help from state troopers, struggled to hold back crowds around Fountain Square.
- 1948: The paper reported a record crowd of up to 5,000.
- 1951: The parade added oversized balloons in the style of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Police estimated 50,000 people along a two-mile route.
The 1951 number deserves a footnote, and Swietek supplied one. The city had fewer than 20,000 residents at the time, and he guessed the real crowd was "maybe half that number." Even half of 50,000 would have been more than the city's entire population.
The Jaycees era started five years after those balloons. So "Christmas Through the Decades" draws on a longer history than the 70 years on the banner.
The Same Order, Spread Across Seven Days
Light Up BGKY runs Nov. 30 through Dec. 6, 2026. Its calendar builds from neighborhood lightings early in the week to downtown on Friday and the parade Saturday morning, the same order the city followed in the 1930s. Here are the main stops on the schedule as of mid-October:
| Day | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., Nov. 30 | Make the Season Bright, with Med Center Health Foundation | Hospitality House, 501 High St. | 6 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Light Up BGKY kickoff and Light Up the Depot, hosted by BG Chamber | Historic RailPark & Train Museum, 401 Kentucky St. | Doors 5 p.m., lighting 6 p.m., free |
| Wed., Dec. 2 | Christmas Holiday Market | Riverview at Hobson Grove, 1100 W. Main Ave. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., free admission |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Downtown BGKY Lights Up | Fountain Square Park and Circus Square Park | 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | BG-WC Jaycees 70th Christmas Parade | Downtown, Fountain Square/College Street | Morning |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Free movies, Elf and It's a Wonderful Life | The Capitol, 416 E. Main Ave. | 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. |
The Riverview market is free to visit, but every vendor space is already taken, so it's too late to sign up to sell. The Thursday and Sunday slots both list the SoKY Ice Rink with details "to be determined."
Friday is the 1930 tree lighting, scaled up
Friday's downtown night is the closest thing to that 1930 lighting, now spread across two parks. Fountain Square Park lights at 5:30 p.m. The program includes remarks from elected officials, live music from local bands, a holiday window decorating contest decided by public vote, and an Ugly Sweater Bar Crawl. The Community Christmas Tree at SKyPAC and Circus Square Park lights at 6 p.m., with Santa, Santa's Workshop activities, and an Elfie Station photo booth run with SKyCTC. The BG Trolley runs a loop around both parks and the SoKY Ice Rink, and the rink is open that night at the SoKY Center. The Downtown BGKY 2026 events calendar also lists the Dec. 4 downtown lighting.
Earlier Friday events give people a reason to come downtown before dark. The Light Up schedule lists a Warren County Holiday Open House at the courthouse at 429 E. 10th Ave. from 2 to 4 p.m. It also lists Christmas on College Street at City Hall from 3 to 5:30 p.m., with guided tours, a photo booth, and free refreshments and ornaments. The BG Chamber Holiday Open House runs from 4 to 6 p.m., with a hot chocolate bar and cookie decorating on the Chamber's porch across the street from Circus Square Park. In 1935 the chamber asked stores to stay open late for the crowd. Its 2026 open house is timed to bring people in before the lights come on.
The same schedule lists the South Union Shaker Village Holiday Market on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It features more than 20 regional antique vendors and artists. Admission is a canned food item or a donation.
What the Jaycees Have Announced, and What's Still Pending
The theme asks participants to bring the sights, sounds, and traditions of past Christmases to life, from vintage decorations to favorite music, movies, and cultural moments. Registration is open to businesses, nonprofits, schools, churches, civic groups, marching units, and other community participants. The parade is free to watch. Visit BGKY's event listing places it at Fountain Square Park on College Street and promises that Santa will be there.
Some details aren't settled yet:
- Start time. Visit BGKY's 70th parade listing says 9 a.m. The Light Up BGKY schedule says 9:30 a.m., and that listing carries a 2025 parade graphic. Check with the Jaycees before you plan the morning around either time.
- Route. As of the Jaycees' September announcement, route, lineup, and schedule details were still to come.
- Last year's route, for reference only. The WKU Herald reported that the 2025 parade started on College Street by Fountain Square, went north three blocks, turned onto 12th Street, and came back south on State Street. It had 121 entries. The 2026 route may differ.
A decades theme could make the 2026 entries look a lot like the parade's own past. A float built around the 1951 balloons or the 1935 husky sled would take its idea straight from the Daily News archive.
The Rink Opens Before the Lights
The SoKY Ice Rink opens about a week and a half before Light Up BGKY starts. The Warren County Public Library lists the rink's 10th annual opening for Nov. 20, 2026, at the SoKY Center, 636 Center St. The free kickoff runs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. and an Olaf storytime at 5 p.m. Warren County's rink page places the rink at the SoKY Center Pavilion, at Sixth and Center.
The county hasn't posted 2026 to 2027 hours yet. Its page still shows last season's details. Those were $12 for adults, $10 for children under 12, free for children under 4, and $125 for an unlimited season pass, with skate rental included. Treat those as last year's prices until the county updates them. SoKY Happenings' January writeup of the ninth season mentioned curling, learn-to-skate sessions, hockey camp, and library storytimes on the ice.
There are also Santa visits away from Fountain Square. Flea Land lists free Santa Sundays on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, 13, and 20, from 1 to 3 p.m. Its free Holiday Bash runs Nov. 28 and 29, with a Grinch meet-and-greet on Saturday.
Last year's route ran up College Street and back down State Street. If you own a home near those blocks, Jeremy Dawson Realtor Group can tell you what it's worth today, with an appraiser's read on downtown values. Get your instant home valuation.
