Cortana Kiwanis Christmas Parade

Since 1948, the Kiwanis Christmas Parade has drawn tens of thousands to downtown Baton Rouge every December.

The parade is a family-friendly event and provides merriment and joy in each element of the evening. Cortana Kiwanis Foundation also announced that over the next 3 years, the net proceeds from the Christmas parade will primarily benefit the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center and the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition. Each charity will receive one-third of the annual net proceeds from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 Christmas parades. The remaining one-third will be allocated to providing grants to other charities in service to children that apply for support.

Cortana Kiwanis supports many worthy causes with the proceeds from the parade, including Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital; the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; defibrillators for local organizations serving children; and the Bringing Up Grades program in elementary schools, just to name a few.

As important as the parade is to many worthy causes Cortana Kiwanis supports year-round, it’s also a powerful economic magnet that attracts vendors, shoppers, restaurant customers, hotel guests, and tourists to our city’s downtown area. The large crowds come early and stay late, shopping and eating before and after parade rolls. The Cortana Parade is the largest televised Christmas parade in the Greater Baton Rouge area, and it draws attendees from all over South Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, and Mississippi. Our broadcast airs throughout the state, on television and online, thanks to Cox Communications Louisiana and WAFB-TV, and receives significant coverage on local iHeartMedia, Guaranty Media, and Cumulus Media radio stations.

The Cortana Kiwanis Annual Christmas Parade has been named the Top Signature Project for the Kiwanis International Signature Project Contest for the Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Tennessee District.