Holidazzle Parade

This year instead of a parade (which was FREE) they have a winter holiday market theme which is $ 6 to get in!!! Are you f^%#ing kidding me!!! Oh, and all their stalls only accepted cash today. They have two ATMs… BOTH NOT WORKING!
To make matters worse it’s cramped and tight. Hard to move around and they make you stand in line (in the freezing cold) to get inside the «warming tent» which can only fit about a dozen people anyway. STUPID.
Finally it’s so hidden away with next to zero advertising that it was pretty easy to miss and walk straight past.
Seriously, who was the talentless ass-​clown who planned this shit?! Forrest Gump?!
If it wasn’t for the tasty almond croissant I manage to but with my three bucks of cash (which doesn’t exactly scream ‘Christmas’!) this would have been a total waste of time. At the very least, it’s a disappointing crack-​itch of an event. LAME!

Usually freezing, but that’s MN!
Great parade full of lights. So fun to see all the creativity and unique floats on a lovely December evening.

3 star average? Come on.
You guys must be tripping balls.
Things I love about Holidazzle:
The fact that it has to stop for traffic.
That the streets aren’t completely full of spectators.
The Grinch that didn’t look like the Grinch,
The dancing light bulbs, especially the yellow bulb that was dancing his/​her ass off on November 26^th.
That if you get to Nicollet early enough, you can watch from the comfy cozy Skyway.
It goes right in front of Marshall’s. Yippee!
Walking distance from The Grand Hotel.
Short duration, 15 minutes of Holiday Joy.
The bus completely covered in lights.
Things I didn’t love:
The fact that it has to stop for traffic. Every time a float approaches the intersection near us, I cheer for the grid to stop working to allow the parade to continue on uninterrupted.
That pretty much sums it up. From what I’ve heard, it’s not worth buying the tickets for the special seating in the Target viewing area. Let me remind you, I am a full grown adult male without children, and fully enjoy stuff like this. Standing out in the cold, it’s not even for that long. Consider this, the Magnificent Lights Parade in Chicago is 30 minutes long without pause, there’s nowhere to escape the frigid cold and Mickey Mouse himself is the Grandmaster, controlling the lights on Michigan Avenue with his magical wand, and the finale is a fireworks display over the Chicago River. I like the Holidazzle parade because the families that are watching are not as annoying as those watching the Magnificent Lights Parade.
Noone expected me to move from my spot in order to let their kid see the goings on. Hate to be a Scrooge, but I didn’t wait 30 minutes in the cold just to give it up to a parent with entitled «parental» rights.

No, it didn’t reduce me to a blubbering mess of tears like the Magnificent Mile Lights parade does EVERY year (darn Mickey). And no, there were no high-​tech feats of electro-​coordination that even came close to comparing to Mickey waving his magical wand and all of State Street lighting up in response.
Let’s be frank — Holidazzle would definitely not top your A-​list of holiday parades (in all honestly, it likely wouldn’t even make the list).
BUT — let’s be clear — that is PRECISELY what makes it so awesome (you know, in the way that only low-​budget B-​movies and rough-​around-​the-​edges homemade gifts can be awesome)!
In case you’re wary of my enthusiasm — let me assure you that I am in no way being facetious (promise!). I absolutely adored Holidazzle! There is something so charming about a parade where each float is preceded by its own little mini-​parade holding up a gigantic sign (nearly ¼ of the size of the float itself) announcing the upcoming act — almost as though they weren’t confident that one would recognize each float without its ‘label’ (awww). Okay, okay — in some cases (such as the Minneapolis Youth Choir float) it made sense. But in others, it was comically obvious (I’m pretty certain the kiddies would have gotten that it was the Santa float without the flashing sign).
And if that isn’t enough to charm your socks off — you gotta Love that they cast children as most of the ‘characters.’ Judging by the uproar of applause and proud photo-​snapping that was occurring on the sidelines — I’d be willing to bet that many are local kids whose parents come to watch them perform in the parade, just as they would a school assembly or talent show (awww!).
To further add to the B-​movie-​esque charm, Holidazzle chooses not to go the fancy route of, oh I don’t know, stopping TRAFFIC! You find yourself almost cheering the floats on as they approach an intersection (you can do it, Pinocchio and Gepetto float!), and experience a minor heartbreak every time one has to yield to oncoming traffic. Awww :(
Though I suppose that without all the pesky red lights — the entire thing would only last about 15 minutes or so (no joke — in its entirely, traffic and all — we’re only talking about 30 dazzling minutes of parade time).
Oh, and just an inside scoop — I have it on good authority (Youtube + a chat with a local) that the parade is more or less identical each time. Translation: If you’ve witnessed it once — the old «been there, done that» adage could not be any more true.
But if you haven’t — go and be (Holi)dazzled at least once!

First, let me say this — I am NOT the target audience for this thing. Target audience = families with children.
The IDEA of this sounds kind of romantic — see a pretty parade of Christmas lights on the Nicollet Mall. But the the reality is different — it’s always freezing cold, too many crowds, tons of families with kids (yes, the intended audience), and frankly, it is boring. Whoope-​de-​do, there’s a little caboose outlined in LED lights. Oooh, look, there’s a nutcracker also outlined in blinky LED lights.
And that’s about it. Yet, from the way the local media hypes this thing up, it’s like it’s this major event. Trust me, it’s not. If you want to see lights, drive around some neighborhoods, you’ll stay warm and you’ll see a better display of lights.
That said, kids will like this but if you are an adult, skip it. It’s a snore.

Lame! Freezing cold, couldn’t see and what I could see had no theme.

I’ve never actually gone to see the Holidazzle as a spectator… but I have dressed up like a light bulb and been IN the parade.
Imagine this:
You are excited that you’re going to get to be on the Wizard of Oz float with all your friends, but instead, you and your boyfriend are relegated to light bulb status. The B-​squad, for sure.
You are suited up and herded like cattle down Nicollet Mall by a wrangler (seriously, the light bulbs have wranglers because the costumes are like death traps). Your only window to the outside world is a tiny rectangular window in your enormous blue costume — a costume that is also loud because there is hot air being fanned at your butt to keep the light bulb inflated.
There is a steady, muffled chorus of children yelling, «Spin! Spin! Spin!» as you and your boyfriend try not to violently whirl into each other and/​or freeze your tails off. You wish you had brought a flask.
You realize you’re having tons of fun in spite of the cold, the crazy costume and the foolishness of the whole situation. It is a magical evening. It is the Holidazzle.

Dear Holidazzle:
I love ya, man, but you must figure out a way to stop traffic during this parade. Without the traffic blocked off on the cross streets along Nicollet, the parade was less of a… well, parade… and more of a sporadic infusion of lighted floats.
Well, put that way I guess it sounds cool – but it could have *so* much more impact if they stopped traffic during the parade. For one, you wouldn’t be waiting 5 minutes (sometimes) in between parade elements. For two, if you get a nice intersection position you wouldn’t get floats rushing through in order to try to make the lights. For three, you wouldn’t have huge buses pulling right up almost into the intersection and blocking half the crowd’s view of the parade during red lights.
All that being said: Lights! Parade! Floats! Fairytale characters! Santa!
And let me tell you, I once wore the Cowardly Lion costume to «represent» the Holidazzle parade during the Aquatennial in August – those things are hot and heavy. Much props to the volunteers who suit up and skip along Nicollet on some – often – very cold nights.

After eating ourselves silly at Buca, it was nice to have a parade to walk to and enjoy the whimsical lights.
It’s a cute little half hour parade. Since I missed the electric light parade in St. Charles, IL this year; this one was nice to see.
It was a beautiful night; warm, snow flakes falling and people crowding around waiting for the parade to start. Sure it’s not the longest of parades or perhaps the most exciting, but it’s festive and cute.
Marching band and festive lights. Makes for a nice part of an evening.

I am from Des Moines, Iowa. That might tell you a lot right there, but going to the Holidazzle parade was an eye opener to what we have down here. At some time in the past 20 years I have managed to make it to one or two parades here in Des Moines, but for the most part they are just plain floats with no music and a bunch of people that want to get out of the house. Minneapolis how ever seems to enjoy the crowds and the lights and glamor of the season, and I have to say, it was worth the trip just to see the joy this parade brings to so many. The Holidazzle may not be a disney parade, but it sure comes close. Hats off to all that make this parade so special.
Glen B. Des Moines, Iowa

Call me scrooge, and take this with a grain of salt, but the Holidazzle is something I’m glad I saw once maybe every ten years. Lots of crowds, usually lots of cold, and not a whole lot of entertainment. Take this with a grain of salt, not their target audience for sure.
I do give kudos to the Twin Cities, and Target, for putting a little cheer into what can be a long cold season!

Holi-​what? Let me explain:
The Holidazzle (try saying «Holidazzle» out loud without smiling — impossible!) is an early-​evening parade where the floats and the people marching are covered in holiday lights. Yes, this parade is eating the ozone, but with pizzazz. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz marched proudly down Nicollet Mall with light-​up ruby slippers. Fantastic.
Yes, this parade is mostly for the kiddies, but as long as you’ve dressed warmly (it’s December in Minnesota, people), you should have a merry time as well. If you have children in tow, get there early to claim a spot in the Skyway so you can watch (an aerial view, in fact) while remaining indoors. Clustering inside Macy’s or Barnes & Noble also works.
The parade itself is short — approximately half an hour — so you have plenty of time to go to dinner afterward and make it a holi-​dazzling evening.

My toes were numb but it did get me in the holiday mood. It is a small parade but i was impressed by the quality of the floats for a frequent parade in Downtown Minneapolis. The 2009 theme is Fairy Tales and they have a bunch of floats like the Princess and the Pea, Wizard of OZ and a really cute Zoo train with little kids dressed as the animals.
It is a short parade, about 30 min, and it gets busy on the weekends but if you find yourself downtown i think it was worth checking out. Like the other reviews say, it’s not Disney… Duh! what were they expecting. It’s better that most parades and who wants it to be long when your sitting in the cold to watch it.

Went for the first time this year and I’m not sure if we’ll make it back. If we do, it might be in 2 – 3 years as this doesn’t warrant that much attention. We stayed in the «heated» Target tent and that was a bit of a disappointment as well. If you stay in the this tent for the parade, sit low in the bleachers or you’ll be ducking down the entire time.
The show itself was okay, but nothing to see again. My perspective may be skewed by the Disney parades I grew up watching, but overall Holidazzle was a bit of a let down.