KANNAPOLIS — The Kannapolis Christmas Parade will be held at Saturday at 6 p.m. downtown. The parade will travel down Laureate Way and West Avenue.

The route offers comfortable areas to watch the parade with the backdrop of the North Carolina Research Campus, Kannapolis City Hall and the police headquarters and West Avenue.

The parade will begin at the intersection of Main Street and Laureate Way at the parking deck of the North Carolina Research Campus, travel down Laureate Way  before turning on West Avenue at the Gem Theatre and traveling down West Avenue, ending at the intersection of Vance Street and West Avenue.

Thousands of lights decorate the parade entries. Dozens of floats and 12 marching bands will participate.

The parade is sponsored by the City of Kannapolis. Cash awards will be presented in the categories of bands, churches, civic organizations and schools.

No on-street parking will be allowed Saturday starting at 6 a.m. on West Avenue, Laureate Way and Main Street, which is the staging area for bands and other parade entries. Main Street will close at 4 p.m. Laureate Way and West Avenue will close at 5:45 p.m. All streets will reopen after the parade.

Parade route and parking information is available at www.kannapolisnc.gov/kannapolischristmas