In early December 2016, high winds forced Rialto to reschedule its holiday parade. The city rescheduled its annual Holiday Parade and Vendor Fair for December 10 at 10 a.m., The Inland Empire Community News reported. Newly elected Mayor Deborah Robertson served as grand marshal. That year's route was new and longer. It started at Etiwanda and Riverside avenues, ran south on Riverside Avenue, turned west onto Rialto Avenue and ended at Rialto and Palm avenues by the Civic Center, which was "Santa's Village" for the day.
Ten years later, the event runs on a different schedule. The 2026 Holiday Festival & Parade is Saturday, December 5, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Once the parade moved into the dark, the city built the evening around one moment at the Civic Center: the tree lighting. That change shapes how a resident should plan the night, from where to stand to what to pay for.
When the parade ran in daylight
The 2016 version spread its activities across a full Saturday. Santa's Village had a snow playground, an inflatable ice castle, arts and crafts and a carnival slide. Families could take pictures with Mr. and Mrs. Claus inside the council chambers, and children could write letters to Santa and drop them in a special holiday mailbox.
Every activity was free. The city collected canned goods and new toys for the Rialto Police Department's Hearts to Share program and for Rialto Child Assistance, both of which helped provide gifts for children over the holidays. School marching bands, drill teams, floats and community members filled the parade.
In daylight, the parade was the main event and Santa's Village was where it ended up. Most of that day's pieces are still part of the festival. What changed is their order and when the evening peaks.
A shorter route that ends at a countdown
By the next December, the parade and the tree lighting were on the same program. The City's video archive has a 2017 parade and tree-lighting recording made December 8 and 9, and the archive pairs the two again in 2018 and 2019.
By 2021 the evening schedule was in place. The City promoted that year's event for Saturday, December 4, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 150 S. Palm Ave. The parade started at Rialto Avenue and Willow Avenue, and the night included a tree-lighting ceremony. The City also posted a 56-minute video of that year's parade and tree lighting.
The City's 2022 parade participant application called it a "nighttime parade." The route started at Rialto Avenue and Willow Avenue and ran about one mile. In 2016 the floats rolled in from Etiwanda and Riverside. Since then they have started closer to the Civic Center, and the route ends at the festival grounds just as the main event begins.
In 2024 the City described the festival as taking place at the Civic Center, with the parade starting at 5:30 p.m. Tree lighting, snow hills, a posada and entertainment were all on the program. Last year's listing for December 6, 2025, again placed the festival at Rialto Civic Center, 150 S. Palm Ave., with free admission.
What the evening format looked like in 2022
The Inland Empire Community News covered the 2022 festival. Hundreds of residents gathered along Rialto and Willow Avenue, and many set up lawn chairs along the street to cheer on the floats, the color guard and Santa and Mrs. Claus. Councilman Andy Carrizales rode a float built on a trailer, decorated with lights and Christmas colors and pulled by an SUV. He introduced the Carter High School ASB students with him and told the crowd that champurrado and conchas were free.
The outlet reported that the evening went in a set order. The parade ended, councilmembers spoke and then the tree was lit. Just before the lighting, Councilmember Rafael Trujillo told the crowd:
"This is the largest event we've had over the years; it's actually doubled in size; we have three stages."
Mayor Deborah Robertson moderated and led the countdown to the tree lighting. The 2016 grand marshal was leading the crowd in the countdown six years later, now in the dark, with the parade feeding straight into it.
The snow used to be free. By 2025 it took a wristband.
Moving to an evening schedule changed one cost. In 2016, the snow playground at Santa's Village was one of the free activities. Last year, admission to the festival was still free, but the Snow Hill required a wristband. Wristbands cost $5 at 214 N. Palm Ave. through December 5 and $7 on the day of the event.
The 2026 announcement from Rialto Parks, Recreation & Community Services keeps wristbands in the plan. It lists free entertainment, activities, a tree lighting, a posada and vendors. Pre-sale wristbands are sold at the department's offices at 214 N. Palm Ave., Room 204, until December 4, and wristbands bought on the day cost $7. The City's festival notice is the page to check for updates between now and December 5.
At last year's prices, the presale saved $2 per wristband, and for a family with several children on the snow, that added up. Buying early also means not waiting in a wristband line on the night.
How to plan the night of December 5
Using the 2026 schedule and the order of past evenings, here is how a resident could plan the night:
- Before Friday, December 4: Stop by Parks, Recreation & Community Services at 214 N. Palm Ave., Room 204, for pre-sale wristbands. After that, they cost $7 on the day.
- 5:30 p.m.: The festival opens. In recent years the parade has also stepped off at 5:30. Since about 2021, the route has started near Rialto and Willow avenues, which is where the 2022 crowd set up lawn chairs.
- After the parade: In 2022, the tree lighting came after the parade, and the countdown pulled the crowd together.
- Until 9:30 p.m.: The festival runs until 9:30, with the posada, vendors and entertainment on the program.
The City has listed a posada on the festival program in 2024, 2025 and again in 2026, on the same night as the tree lighting.
For groups thinking about entering a float next year, the 2025 application shows how it works. Entry was free and open to community organizations, schools and businesses. Accepted entries included vehicles, floats, marching bands, walking groups and equestrian groups, which were judged by category. Applications were due in early November.
Two Wednesdays at the market before the parade
Before December 5, the city also has events at the Rialto Certified Farmers' Market, which runs every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 290 W. Rialto Ave.
- Wednesday, November 18: The City calendar lists a Turkey Giveaway during that morning's market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 290 W. Rialto Ave. The City's November calendar has the listing.
- Wednesday, December 2: The market runs its regular hours three days before the festival.
Either Wednesday can double as the trip to 214 N. Palm Ave. for pre-sale wristbands before the December 4 cutoff.
Jose has spent more than 20 years watching Inland Empire neighborhoods mark the season, and Rialto's tree lighting on Palm Avenue is one of the city's annual December traditions. If you're thinking about where your family will be for next year's tree lighting, or how a move fits around the holidays, Salem Realty Group is here to help in English or Spanish. Talk with Jose to request a free consultation.
