Niles Festival of Lights

Super fun! Super cute! excellent for the whole family!

Super fun way to kick off the Christmas Season. Definately stop by in the morning to dropp off your chairs otherwise you will be standing for an hour long parade. It is fun for the kids and a definate family outing. Merry Christmas.

In previous years, we went to downtown San Jose for the Tree Lighting Ceremony and then hung out at Christmas in the Park. This holiday we wanted to try something different. I’d had my eyes on the Niles Festival of Lights for quite some time.
Thanks to fellow Unilocaler, Eric J. for the heads up, we were mentally prepared for the crowds and traffic. Nevertheless, it was a breeze compared to DTSJ. We arrived a little before 5:30pm. Found a spot to park painlessly. Gathered our chairs, blankets and hot chocolate. It was only a 2 min walk to all the action. A ton of people had already claimed their spots along both sides of the street. As soon as we saw a small open space between two groups of watchers, we wedged ourselves in and set up camp. Some local stores were still open for business. So it was an opportunity for browsing around to kill time before the parade began.
The floats were not elaborate but still nicely decorated. There were the typical marching bands, hot rods, leather-​clad bikers and dance troops. What amazed me was the multiple groups of ranchers and their parade horses. The animals were doing their piaffes and passages with flare. Very cool! Unfortunately, cigarette smoke drifted by every now and then. C’mon people! There were babies and children everywhere breathing your secondhand smoke. All in all, it was quaint and we dug the small town vibe.

Longer Than Usual, But Disappointing
«That’s it. No more parades.»
This year, my mom found the Niles Festival of Lights and Parade to be «hell of boring.»
I basically agree with her.
(I knew that the other reviews posted here were going to be old. The event has grown in recent years, but isn’t necessarily better now.)
.
The event didn’t end at 9 p.m.
It ended shortly before 8 (this is a good thing).
«Around 1,000 people are expected tonight, the same as last year.»
More people than that showed up, which kind of made the event stressful (it took us over 20 minutes to drive out of the area, and my mom was frustrated over the «idiots» we encountered– I provide details below).
The Public Restrooms:
I went around 5:40.
The line for men was about 5 deep, and the line for women was about 15 deep.
Yikes.
:
I was finally sitting close enough to the tree to see it light up.
Hahaha.
Anyway, the tree is big and looks impressive when the lights are actually working.
The band that performed was very good.
My dad wanted us to sit closer to them (my son loves music). I’m glad, though, that my mom shot that down (we would have gone deaf).
Anyway, we could easily hear all the announcements from where we were sitting.
My dad bought my son a large butterfly wand for $ 10 (it lights up and plays music).
Small wands were $ 5 (another vendor sold similar items).
The vendor was patient and friendly.
(She lazily wore a Santa beard. My dad and I initially thought that she was just hairy.)
There were too many «pauses» during the parade. That’s partly why it was dull.
My hookers wanted to dance at one point, but I told them to remain seated.
:
You might want to eat beforehand or bring some food from outside the area.
There were more horses than normal.
A few years ago, a woman cleaned up horse poop (she was quick and made light of it).
This year, the horses must have let it all out earlier. o_​O
There were no dancing Christmas trees this year (my dad and I missed them).
The dancers will be part of the Oakland parade on 12/​7, though.
There was a guy on an old tractor.
It doesn’t get more exciting than that.
I saw 2 young guys in black do some impressive flips (they were martial artists).
Quiet, Please:
Some people behind us were loud because they were standing on leaves (space really was an issue).
I lightly elbowed a man by accident.
A sexy young Asian woman was sitting in front of me (I didn’t mind seeing her come and go).
It was one of the highlights for me.
Expect a lot of congestion.
There are some walkways, but you may have to create your own paths at times.
2 annoying guys appeared near the end (one of them knew the man sitting next to my mom).
They were both smoking right by my son (he’s only 21 months old).
I groaned out loud and was happy when they left.
:
The parade really only came alive near the end.
My camera died before Santa arrived, but we actually saw him while leaving the area.
He was still in the Christmas spirit (I waved to him from the minivan). At least one of his elves, though, wasn’t (she was shivering).
It wasn’t as chilly as normal (it also wasn’t windy or rainy).
Still, it’s always wise to wear a heavy jacket and to bring a light blanket or a seat cushion.
While Leaving:
They were spirited, but there were too many damn people around this year.
My dad honked at 2 fools (they didn’t want to let us through when it was our turn), and he almost ran over a woman walking her dog.
We were both mad at the woman (we really didn’t see her until she started crossing). The bit– took a big and unnecessary risk (she smiled and waved, not realizing how close to death she was).
My son had fun (my dad also bought him a big lollipop– he thought that it was funny, and so after eating some of it and before dropping it on the ground, Joshua shared it with his plush Snoopy and my mom’s light-​up Christmas hat).
Still, the parade wasn’t worth all the hassle.
My family and I will pass on it next year.

I’ve been wanting to go to this parade for years. We FINALLY went to the 2011 parade on Friday, November 25^th, and boy was it FUN!
Mr. Rinky dropped off me and my friend K while he looked for parking. Our son arrived with K’s bf, M and managed to find us. Mr Rinky didn’t find us until after the parade was over.
We got there a little late –6 pm — the parade started at 6:30; the streets were fairly crowded but we managed to find a place behind a group of kids sitting on the sidewalk. We brought chairs and had a great view.
The parade is very corny and small townie. I think I was just as if not more excited than the kids surrounding us.
So what did we see?
The parade started off with several fire engines and police cars with their sirens blaring and lights flashing.
Followed by:
A whole squadron of dozens of bikers with blinking Christmas lights, passengers adorned in Christmas gear, large stuffed animals…
Many Girl and Boy Scout Troops
Several local high school bands
Various equestrian groups with horses doing these marching and sideway movements
Floats
Essansay Silent Film Museum with our favorite, dedicated volunteers holding a large banner or dressed as Charlie Chaplin and other characters
Crowd favorites (ie. my favorites)
Hello Kitty
Pirates!
Cookie Monster
Snoopy
Charlie Brown
Sally
Linus
I had the greatest time waving and yelling to all my favorite characters marching down the street. I was nearly out of control when Elmo came to our side of the street
I had too much fun waving to everyone who passed by. It’s a good thing I was a couple of rows back from the street or else I would have bear hugged all of the people dressed as my favorite characters.
A magical night to remember for little kids and big kids like me!
Thank you Niles!
Thanks too to all the boy scouts I saw cleaning up all the litter!

Great local, home town parade!
Local business with a few floats, balloons, dancing Xmas trees, decorated Harley’s, marching band, boy & girl scouts.
Really a fun time! Great for families!

This is a great, homey, cozy, fun parade. Lots of floats and lots of lights I would definitely recommends as a way to get in the holiday spirit!

4.5 stars for a great (local) way to kick-​off the holiday season with the family, friends, or significant other
—
Kristi Yamaguchi (1992 gold medal Olympic figure skater + Dancing with the Stars Champion) and her family were in today’s parade, which almost automatically gives this event 5 stars. She is a great role model for her dedication and philanthropy work!
Besides the famous Mission San Jose HS alumnus, there are lots of local businesses and organizations with floats. Everyone from the family will enjoy something: cars, dogs and horses, dancers, marching bands, interesting floats, and they even had some Scottish warrior reenactments.
The historic Niles district looks exceptionally beautiful with all the lights and a few small shops sell food. The annual countdown to the lighting of the Christmas tree usually involves the Mayor or another government official.
It was pretty chilly with the light rain this year, but it is definitely worth attending!
This review was written with local attendees in mind (if you want to go to a bigger event there are a lot in the Bay Area).