Santa and Mrs. Claus wave to Mount Clemens Santa Parade attendees at a recent parade.
By: Dean Vaglia | Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal | Published November 20, 2025
MOUNT CLEMENS — There are not many traditions that have been running for 50 years, but the Mount Clemens Santa Parade is one of them.
Stepping off on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 22, Parade President Erik Rick says parade planners aimed to bring the same fun and cheer attendees have come to expect from the past half decade of holiday festivities.
“I don’t think anything will (be different this year), and I think that’s the beauty of it,” said Rick, who is a Mount Clemens city commissioner and an experienced volunteer of the parade. “It’s not supposed to. It’s supposed to be a continuation of a decades-long tradition. The lineup looks like it will be comparable to prior years … It’s a great milestone to hit, but also (the Santa Parade is) the kind of thing that’s going to keep going for another 50 years no matter what. So we’re just celebrating the milestone and continuing on.”
Santa will be led down Main Street starting from Church Street and moving north to Clinton Street. Leading Santa in the procession will be over 90 groups including the Mount Clemens Fire Department, Macomb County government officials and the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, marching bands from around the region and various Scouting troops, civil organizations, veterans groups and more. Those looking to meet with the man in the red hat can head to the municipal Market Street green parking lot, located near Main Street and Clinton Street, after the parade.
Nelson and Diane Jackson are tapped as the grand marshals this year. An educational power couple celebrating their own 50th anniversary this year, both are graduates of Western Michigan University and Wayne State University. Nelson worked across Mount Clemens Community Schools as an ombudsman and held various principal positions, including at Mount Clemens High School. Diane worked as an educational consultant for pre-college programs for the University of Whitewater-Wisconsin from 1997-2007 and was an educator in the city for 37 years with roles at Christian Clemens Elementary School, Washington Junior High School and Mount Clemens Middle School.
Theresa McGarity, a parade volunteer and a city commissioner, said her husband was tutored by Diane after she caught him trying to escape detention.
“They took the time out (to help students),” McGarity said. “It wasn’t just go to school, teach the kids and go home. They spent their summer helping the students excel.”
Parade preparation is a year-long effort for volunteers. Work begins as soon as the parade ends.
“The putting away of one parade is the beginning of the next parade,” Rick said.
And while most of the year involves core volunteers meeting and fundraising, the execution of the parade heavily relies on volunteers. There are a variety of roles for volunteers typically falling either on the operations side or being a character marching in the parade. Rick himself has more experience on the operations side, leaning on experience managing amphibious landings in the Navy to order the parade’s floats and marchers. However, he also has experience as a marcher.
“I’ve only done a costume once and it was an interesting experience,” Rick said. “The kids love it, but just when you get to the end and you think you have a chance to take a break, that’s when kids then surround you and want to play and get pictures and whatnot. For any costume volunteers, it's worth knowing that marching in the parade is part of it, but at the end of the parade sometimes there’s more fun to be had as well.”
While having a part in making sure a storied local tradition continues on has been rewarding for Rick and others, his favorite part of the volunteering experience is getting to see those personal, magical moments that happen before and after things kick off on parade day.
“I know where Santa gets ready for the parade, and I’m not going to say where,” Rick said. “And, I know one little kid knocked on the door to that location … and the door opened, and Santa leaned out and put his lips in a ‘sush’ motion so that little child could keep his secret. If you’re not a volunteer you’re not going to see those moments or hear about them. Knowing that we’re all part of this tradition that makes moments like that for hundreds of Mount Clemens kids is pretty fun.”
Santa first made his way down Mount Clemens’ Main Street in 1975. The man from the North Pole came to Bath City in order to visit Prieh’s Department Store, journeying into town upon a lone float. Mr. Claus returned in 1976 and from then until the 2000s, the parade cemented itself as a core part of the Mount Clemens civic calendar. It was helped along in major part by First National Bank in 1989 and Mount Clemens General Hospital in 1994, both coming in to sponsor and organize the budding tradition.
The parade’s future came into doubt in 2006 when the hospital pulled its sponsorship. A campaign was launched to save the parade, and since then it has been handled by groups of volunteers operating with some kind of charitable partner. This year, the parade is organized with the Downtown Development Committee Foundation — the Mount Clemens Downtown Development Authority’s charitable arm — while registering with the state and federal governments to form a nonprofit parade organization. This year’s presenting sponsors are the Mount Clemens Lions Club and JARS Cannabis. Other parade sponsors include local clubs and businesses within the greater Mount Clemens area.
“We have lots of floats and a lot of the same people who have supported us through the years; the car clubs and the dance studios and the ice arena with their Zamboni and the figure skaters, and of course Santa and Mrs. Claus,” DDCF Treasurer and Parade Sponsorship Coordinator Michelle Weiss said. “I’m just grateful that people find value in not just putting it on but supporting it … The kids look forward to it (over) generations. We have families that came when they were little and now they’re parents and grandparents, and it means a lot to them to come here.”
For more information about the parade, go to mountclemenssantaparade.com.