Idabelle Stalling, 5, gives her Christmas wish list to Santa at the end of Solvang's 2022 Julefest Parade.
Idabelle Stalling, 5, gives her Christmas wish list to Santa at the end of Solvang's 2022 Julefest Parade. Credit: Len Wood / Noozhawk photo

Solvang launched into the holiday season with the downtown Julefest Parade on Saturday.

Rain stayed away as about 40 entries from across the Santa Ynez Valley and beyond made their way along city streets while spectators — both tourists and residents — filled the sidewalks.

View a photo gallery from the parade by clicking the arrow on the right side of the picture above.

The Birkholm family rode in a place of honor as grand marshals.

Other participants included outgoing Mayor Charlie Uhrig alongside Mayor-elect Mark Infanti.

Saturday’s parade followed the city’s traditional tree-lighting ceremony on Friday night.

The Julefest celebration will continue through the month in the city where the Solvang Chamber of Commerce distributed about 100 Christmas trees days ago to local businesses.

Other attractions include a 10-minute nightly light show on the hour every hour from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. along with traditional music in Solvang Park.

The Grinch (from the Boscutti Ballet Theater) gives a big hug to spectator Noe Cambia during Solvang’s 2022 Julefest Parade.
The Grinch (from the Boscutti Ballet Theater) gives a big hug to spectator Noe Cambia during Solvang’s 2022 Julefest Parade. Credit: Len Wood / Noozhawk photo

Photos with Santa will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 3 p.m. Sundays and ending Dec. 18.

The Nisse Adventure has returned with details available at the Solvang Visitors Center in the 1600 block of Copenhagen Drive.

The 39th Solvang Nativity Spectacular, a live pageant, will offer two performances on Dec. 10 at the Solvang Festival Theater, 420 Second St. Early entrance tickets can be found by clicking here.

The Grinch (from the Boscutti Ballet Theater) gives a big hug to spectator Noe Cambia during Solvang’s 2022 Julefest Parade.
The Grinch (from the Boscutti Ballet Theater) gives a big hug to spectator Noe Cambia during Solvang’s 2022 Julefest Parade. Credit: Len Wood / Noozhawk photo

Julefest wraps up with the annual Solvang Christmas Tree Burn planned for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 6 at the Mission Santa Ines parking lot.

Information on the various activities linked to Julefest can be found by clicking here.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.