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Marion's history as Christmas City, USA goes back to the early days of television. In 1965, an Indianapolis TV station visited Marion to broadast the city's elaborate holiday decorations during a holiday special. As a result, representatives of General Plastics, a major manufacturer of holiday displays in Marion, copyrighted the phrase "Christmas City, USA" for the city. Now known as GP Designs, Inc, they have remained an important partner as the community's decorations have evolved into a spectacular festival of lights. |
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The Holiday season begins in Marion with the Christmas City USA Parade on Saturday November 21st. The 2009 parade will be the third annual night time Christmas City USA Parade. More than 100 units, including bands, floats and motorized units, make their way along the streets of downtown. At the conclusion of the parade, Santa Claus makes his first appearance of the holiday season
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Since 1992, Marion has followed the Christmas City USA parade with the lighting of a drive-through light display that is among the largest in the state. What began as a salute to the 33 countries represented by residents of Grant County has evolved into a holiday extravaganza with a broad range of holiday themes. |
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The Christmas City Walkway of Lights is four (4) miles long and encompases more than two and a half million lights. During the six-week event from November 21st to December 31st, more than 65,000 vehicles are expected to drive through with nearly 200,000 passengers. In past years, visitors from 26 states have journeyed to Marion to enjoy the holiday lights. Currently 28 tour groups from other communities in Indiana and surrounding states are scheduled to visit the Christmas City Walkway of Lights this year. |
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The Christmas City Walkway of Lights is truly a community event utilizing hundreds of volunteers serving on the steering committee, as display installers, donation station volunteers, gift shoppe staff, and tour guides. Local businesses and organizations provide support as well; there are eight major event and promotional sponsors and nearly 100 display sponsors.
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