GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Santa Claus has arrived in Grand Rapids.

Welcomed by a parade through downtown, Mr. and Mrs. Claus were followed into Rosa Parks Circle by swarms of people on Saturday, Nov. 22.

The North Pole natives joined the Santa Parade’s Grand Marshal, former Detroit Lion Herman Moore, on stage to light the city’s Christmas tree and mark the official start to the holiday season.

“It helps you get in the spirit of Christmas and just see a lot of happy, beautiful people in the same spirit,” Tanekia Means said.

Means brought her family back for the second year after attending for the first time in 2024.

“It was beautiful,” she said. “Warm, welcoming, we just love it.”

After the tree lighting, families enjoyed hot chocolate, took pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus and kids wrote

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