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Christmas parade will be Friday, Dec. 7 in downtown Knoxville

Rusty Wallace will be the Grand Marshal of the 2018 WIVK Christmas Parade.

Knoxville — A NASCAR champion will be the Grand Marshal of the 46th annual WIVK Christmas Parade this Friday, Dec. 7, in downtown Knoxville.

The parade steps off at 6:45 p.m. on Howard H. Baker Jr. Avenue, head down Church Street, then right onto Gay Street for several blocks. Then it will turn right on Jackson Avenue and concludes at Patton Avenue in the Old City.

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Rusty Wallace will be the Grand Marshal, along with a dozen floats from his six namesake automobile dealerships in East Tennessee. Others floats, bands, choirs, dance teams, and others will also be part of the fun.

If you want to watch the parade, you are encouraged to arrive early to get parked and get in place. Parking in city-owned garages if free in the evening and on weekends, but the State Street Garage is under construction, so there are fewer spots available.

Several roads and parking zones will also be temporarily closed:

The eastbound lane of Howard Baker Jr. Avenue between Hill Avenue and Hall of Fame Drive will be closed from 4:30-8 p.m. Friday.

Roads will be closed along the parade route, starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, including Gay Street between Cumberland and Depot avenues. Streets will reopen as soon as the parade has completed its route.

There will be a temporary no-parking zone on Gay Street between Jackson and Cumberland avenues, starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Market Street between Union and Church avenues and Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay streets also will be closed during the parade, and temporary no-parking zones will be in effect.

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