The Blount County Jaycees Christmas Parade 2026: Saturday, December 12 in Maryville and Alcoa
Mark Saturday, December 12 for the big one. The Blount County Jaycees Christmas Parade rolls through Alcoa and downtown Maryville at 11 a.m., and this year there is a route change worth knowing before you pick your spot on the curb.
The 2026 theme is "The Reason for the Season," and the parade steps off at 11 a.m. after entries start lining up around 9. If the weather turns, the whole thing shifts to Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m.; the Jaycees say they make the call by 10 a.m. on parade day, post updates on their Facebook page, and you can also reach them by phone at (865) 973-9945.
Where it goes: floats stage along Joule and Rankin Streets in Alcoa, wind through the New Midland Plaza shopping center, and come down Calderwood and North Cusick Streets into downtown Maryville before turning onto Broadway. The change for 2026 is at the end. The parade now turns left beside McCammon-Ammons Funeral Home and wraps up near Amburn's Market on East Church Avenue, instead of continuing past the Maryville Municipal Building. If your usual parade spot was in front of the municipal building, that is the section that moved.
A few practical notes for families:
- It is free and open to everyone. Stake out a spot on the sidewalk along the route.
- Side streets that connect to the parade route close during the event, and parking lots directly along Broadway are blocked while the parade passes. Get there early and plan to walk a few blocks.
- Candy gets tossed along most of the route, but distribution stops at the new ending point near Amburn's Market.
- The parade finishes downtown, which makes it easy to meet up with friends or grab lunch after the last float goes by.
If your scout troop, school group, or church wants to march in it, details and registration are on the parade website at blountcountychristmasparade.com. There is an early entry deadline of November 1 for the cheaper rate, so do not sit on it if a group of yours is tempted to join.
This is one of those December mornings that feels like the whole county turns out for. Worth putting on the calendar now so the kids do not miss it.