ST PAUL, Minn. — As summer winds down, the St. Paul Winter Carnival is announcing a big change. The Grand Day parade that kicks off the celebrations will be marching up to Grand Avenue where it will be held in Jan. 2025.
"What we have noticed in the last few years is attendance at the parade has been lower even in a warmer year like 2024," Lisa Jacobson said.
Jacobson leads the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit that runs the Winter Carnival. She says discussion around relocating the parade began last spring. Grand Avenue isn't foreign to hosting parades, and business owners are eager to have the event at their doorstep.
"This parade in particular brings people together and not just the local people," Todd Russell said.
Russell grew up blocks from Grand Avenue and is a part of the revitalization of the area. He is opening a new restaurant, Russells, in the old Tavern on Grand location. He thinks the parade on Grand Avenue will bring in more families.
The Torchlight Parade that is the finale of the Winter Carnival will not be moving, and probably never will according to organizers. Most of the Winter Carnival events will stay centered around downtown St. Paul.
The announcement of the relocation of Grand Day Parade has been met with some criticism, but the St. Paul Downtown Alliance president Joe Spencer does support the move.
"The Winter Carnival is a treasured partner for all of St. Paul. We are excited for the parade to continue on Grand Avenue, and in the meantime, downtown will continue to be the epicenter for the Winter Carnival and other cold weather fun in St. Paul," Spencer said.
The Winter Carnival kicks off in January 2025 and will run through February.