Upland's Hometown Holiday Parade Now Starts at 10 a.m.

"Parade begins at 10:00 a.m." That line is on the City of Upland's page for the 49th Annual Hometown Holiday Parade on Saturday, December 12. The fair around it runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you've lined 2nd Avenue in past Decembers, you probably remember an afternoon parade. This year the floats start rolling before many downtown kitchens have started their lunch rush.

Every other big street gathering on 2nd Avenue from now through early December takes place in the afternoon or evening. Aside from the regular Saturday farmers market, December 12 is now the only downtown street event of the season that happens in the morning. It runs on breakfast and coffee hours, and planning for it looks different from planning for anything else on the calendar.

Four Years, Four Start Times

The parade has moved around before, but it has never started this early in recent years. Here are the advertised start times for the last four parades:

The 2023 and 2024 times come from Macaroni KID's 2023 listing and its 2024 listing. The 2025 time comes from the Upland Chamber of Commerce's event page. Last year's version, as Macaroni KID described it in November 2025, followed the parade with a faire that opened at 3 p.m., had Santa arriving for photos at 3:30 and wrapped up at 6 p.m.

The 2026 schedule turns that order around. The fair opens first, at 9 a.m., and the parade starts an hour later. Santa no longer arrives in a separate photo slot. The City's page calls his appearance "the grand finale of the parade." For anyone with kids, that means staying until the last float passes. Leaving early means missing Santa entirely.

The Rest of the Season Still Runs Late

The morning start stands out because the rest of downtown's fall and holiday calendar happens later in the day. Here's the sequence leading up to December 12, based on City of Upland and Historic Downtown Upland listings:

1. Scary-A-Faire, Saturday, October 24, 4 to 8 p.m. It's free and open to all ages, with trick-or-treating, community booths and themed entertainment across Historic Downtown Upland. The City's event page encourages costumes.
2. Día de los Muertos Festival, Sunday, November 1, noon to 8 p.m. According to Historic Downtown Upland, the procession begins at 4 p.m., and participants are asked to arrive by 3:30 p.m. at 2nd Avenue and C Street. The listing says the route travels "along 2nd Avenue through A Street" and ends at the community ofrenda at the gazebo at 2nd Avenue and 9th Street. Calavera face paint and traditional attire are welcome, and the Catrina and Catrín costume contest carries a $500 prize. Sign-up is at the contest table.
3. Fall Puzzle Palooza, Friday, November 13, 7 to 9 p.m., at Magnolia Recreation Center.
4. 19th Annual Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving morning, November 26, at San Antonio Park. The 1K starts at 7:30 a.m. and the 5K at 8 a.m.
5. Santa's Workshop at the Tree Lighting Celebration, Thursday, December 3, 5 to 8 p.m. Kids ages 5 to 13 run their own booths selling handmade items for $10 per child. There's also a Best Dressed Booth contest with a gingerbread theme. Registration is linked from the City's workshop page.
6. Breakfast With Santa, Saturday, December 5, 8 to 10:30 a.m., at Magnolia Recreation Center, followed the same day by Santa Paws, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Baldy View Dog Park.

The Turkey Trot happens at a park and Breakfast With Santa is a seated event. On 2nd Avenue itself, the street gatherings start at 4 p.m. or later, or end at 8 p.m. The Saturday farmers market and craft faire, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., is the one regular downtown routine that runs on the same clock as the new parade schedule. That makes the parade fair's 9 a.m. opening less unusual than it looks. 2nd Avenue already runs a morning crowd every Saturday.

Plan December 12 Around Coffee, Not Dinner

With the parade starting at 10 a.m. and the fair closing at 2 p.m., an afternoon-and-evening plan for December 12 no longer fits. The question is what's open before 10 a.m. and what's within walking distance of the route.

RAD Coffee at 232 N 2nd Ave is the most dependable choice on the route itself. Its own site lists daily hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. That means it's open three hours before the fair begins and four before the first float. Because it's on 2nd Avenue, a coffee run doesn't require leaving the route.

The Historic Downtown Upland food and drink directory lists several other bagel, coffee, bakery and tea names: 42nd Street Bagel, Lontra Coffee, The Local Baker & Cafe and The Olde Magnolia Tea Room. The directory doesn't list hours, so check each one before planning a 9 a.m. stop.

Just off the route, the Upland Lemon Festival's 2026 participating-business list places Coterie Tea & Eatery at 155 E C St, Suite A, and Molly's Souper at 388 N 1st Ave. Both work as lunch stops once the parade loops back to D Street and the crowd starts to thin.

Lunch will matter more than it used to. In 2025, the parade ended in time for an early dinner downtown. In 2026, the fair closes at 2 p.m., so the meal after the parade is lunch. La Michelada, at 161 N. 2nd Ave, will see its first Hometown Holiday Parade. The Upland Chamber of Commerce held its ribbon cutting on May 6, 2026. The directory's other listings, including Padua Pasta Makers, Patra Thai Dining, Two Frogs Cantina, Crazy Gringo BBQ, Barcuso, Allegro, and Cookies N Pints and O's Ice Cream for dessert, give you more options to check for an early-afternoon meal.

How the Route Works

The 2026 route is a loop, which makes choosing a spot easier. According to the City, the parade starts at 2nd Avenue and D Street, heads south on 2nd Avenue to A Street, then turns back north on 2nd Avenue and ends at D Street.

Since the parade passes the same blocks twice, here's what that means in practice:

• Anywhere between D and A streets works. Every float passes going south and again going north, so there's no single front-row block.
• The D Street end is where Santa finishes. The City lists the parade's start at D Street, and the route ends there too, which puts the finale at that end.
• The fair opens an hour early. Food vendors and the Holiday Boutique, which features holiday-themed gifts from local vendors, start at 9 a.m., so you can shop before the parade instead of after.
• Downtown's regular shops stay part of the day. The City's description invites visitors to explore the shops throughout Downtown Upland along with the boutique.

For Groups That Want to March

If your school, club, team, business or organization wants to be in the parade, the deadline is close. The City's parade application page lists Friday, October 23 as the 2026 deadline, which is tomorrow for anyone reading this on publication day. The page says local entrants get priority, encourages early submission, and asks that completed forms be emailed to [email protected]. Questions go to Upland Recreation & Community Services at (909) 931-4280.

For a group, a morning parade changes the logistics. Volunteers, costumes, and any decorated vehicle or float need to be ready well before 10 a.m.

A Season That Ends in the Morning

The City hasn't posted a reason for the new start time, and its event pages carry no publication dates. Before December 12, confirm the details with Upland Recreation & Community Services at (909) 931-4280 or on the City's special events page. The published schedule is clear, though. Downtown Upland's season runs from an evening Halloween faire on October 24, through a late-afternoon procession on November 1 and a Thursday-night tree lighting on December 3, to a parade that starts at 10 a.m. and finishes with Santa at D Street, inside a fair that closes at 2 p.m.

If your household is thinking about a move after the holidays, or wants to know what homes near Upland's downtown trade for today, I'm glad to share what I'm seeing locally, with clear answers and no pressure. Let's connect: reach out through Francis Deguzman, and I'll see you on 2nd Avenue.