2025 Merry-Etta Lighted Christmas Parade

Our annual evening holiday parade will include floats, dance routines, carolers, and much more, all complete with festive Christmas lights. As usual, Santa Claus will make his appearance in the parade at the very end! This year’s parade will take place on Saturday, November 29th at 6pm.

FLOAT GUIDELINES

All Merry-etta Christmas Parade details will be emailed to the address provided below. Candy may be passed out but not thrown from the float. This is an evening, lighted parade and as such, all floats must be illuminated. We also encourage you to light up yourselves, your vehicles, and any other elements of your float. This year's theme is “Hometown Holidays”, so feel free to get in the spirit of the theme with your float! Live animal units are fully responsible for their own immediate clean up. Santa Claus will be on the final float of the parade, coordinated by Marietta Main Street. We ask that Santa Claus not be included on any other floats.

Sponsor a Lamppost

Downtown lampposts are beautifully-decorated with pre-lit garlands and wreaths, making them vibrant every day and every night. Finished with a big red bow and a gift tag, lamp post sponsors enable Marietta Main Street to continue doing what we do to maintain an attractive, inviting downtown during the holiday season. Plus, sponsor gift tags will stay on downtown lampposts the entire month of December ensuring holiday shoppers and business owners can appreciate the gifts given to our community with each tag. Support downtown beautification during the holiday season by sponsoring a downtown lamp post! We will place a gift tag on a downtown lamppost for each sponsor. All sponsors will also be included in a published list on our website and on social media. Lampposts may be sponsored In Memory Of or In Honor Of someone. Only 110 lamp posts are available for sponsorship.

Holiday Tree Walk

The Holiday Tree Walk is a seasonal attraction that allows locals and tourists to adore a pathway of trees decorated with the spirit of the Marietta community. Each tree represents a local business, organization, story, memory, or theme.

The Holiday Tree Walk made its debut last year in 2019 and quickly became a treasured addition to Marietta’s holiday season. Local businesses, organizations, or individuals may adopt and decorate a real tree that will be installed in East Muskingum Park during the holiday season. Trees may be adopted In Memory Of or In Honor Of someone.

How to Participate

Adopt a tree and decide on a theme!

Adopted trees will be transported to and installed in East Muskingum Park by Greenleaf Landscapes. Trees will be 6' to 7' in height.

The adopter is responsible for providing their own weather proof decorations with twist ties, outdoor LED lights, an outdoor 12/3 prong minimum 25’ extension cord for plug in, a plastic bag to cover the cord connection, and a sign indicating the tree theme and host.

Please note: Lights must be outdoor LED. Lights that are indoor/outdoor, indoor, or non-LED will not be allowed on the trees.

Thanks to Greenleaf Landscapes for installation & support.

Marietta Main Street’s #mymarietta Music Festival

On Saturday July 19th downtown Marietta will transform into an outdoor music venue with the annual #MyMarietta Music Festival, hosted by Marietta Main Street. This free, family-friendly event showcases some of the best local and regional bands and musicians across three stages. The title sponsor is Wilky’s Sports Bar, and the stage sponsors are Washington State College of Ohio and Magnum Magnetics.  The stages will be located on the Armory lawn, at Wilky’s Sports Bar and First City Records, in the heart of historic downtown Marietta. Other sponsors include Just a Jar Design Press, Marietta Dental Works, First City Records, the Town House, Lure Tattooing and Piercing and Wit & Whimzy with Clutch Collective. 

This popular music festival has grown to be a much anticipated and well attended event, drawing hundreds of people downtown to enjoy their favorite musicians and discover new ones. Nate Shahan, Marietta Main Street Board member and coordinator of the event, explained what the event means for the Marietta community. “Despite what some people may think, the MOV has a vibrant, diverse music scene. This festival showcases some of the best talent in our region, including singer/songwriters, Americana, Rock and Metal, all in one place for free.”

The music kicks off at noon and continues until 11:00 PM. On the Wilky’s stage at the Armory, the scheduled performances are: High Schools that Rock 12:00, Mud Duck Revival 1:15, Jake Dunn 2:30, Todd Burge 4:00, Gypsy River 5:30, OYO 7:00, Sockdolager 8:30, Hominid 10:00 PM.  

On the Magnum Magnetics Stage at First City Records, the scheduled performances are: Volcanic Ensemble 12:00, The Hopewell 1:30, Matt Petty & the Whiskey Chasers 3:00, Levi Westfall Band 4:30, Place Invaders 6:00, Appalachian Hustle 7:30, Sybil’s Silence 9:00 PM. 

And on the Washington State College of Ohio Stage at Wilky’s the scheduled performances are: Evie Schaffer 12:00, Evan Cunningham 1:15, Soph Stevens 2:30, Jimmy Change 3:45, Sarah Burton 5:00, Hannah & Levi Westfall 6:15, Justin Arthur 7:30, Two Buds & a Slapbox 9:00 PM. The schedule is staggered so that people can move between stages to enjoy multiple acts. 

While the main feature of the day is music, it’s also an opportunity to visit the many shops and boutiques within walking distance of the stages. Restaurants will be ready to welcome hungry festival attendees and even provide DORA friendly drinks. Locals and visitors alike are invited to spend the afternoon and evening experiencing live music.

2025 FLOWER BASKET CAMPAIGN

Every year, Marietta Main Street hangs flower baskets on the lampposts in downtown Marietta and Historic Harmar Village. Over time as our downtown district grew with new businesses and new programs, we also grew our downtown flower program that now installs 360 hanging flower baskets full of petunias throughout our commercial district.

Our fundraising goal for this year's flower campaign is $25,000 to fund each flower basket + the 6 hours a day for 180 days it takes in labor to water the baskets + care and maintenance of our watering tractor, all managed by Jay Huck and his team at Huck Greenhouses.

We are asking individuals, organizations, and businesses who can financially support this campaign to join us in our efforts to beautify our historic, vibrant downtown! Flower baskets can be sponsored by your business or organization or In Honor of or In Memory of anyone of the sponsor’s choosing, especially those who make- or have made - a positive difference in Marietta.