There’s a lot of events and things going on in downtown St. Cloud in the upcoming days and weeks.
There’s also a lot of construction, especially on Pennsylvania Avenue and 10th Street, which is affecting traffic and the availability of parking, big issues with holiday events on tap.
The St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce has announced that Mears Connect will be operating a shuttle service starting Monday (today, Nov. 28) and running through Jan. 13.
It will run Monday through Friday from 1-6 p.m., and then during special events:
Tree lighting ceremony, Dec. 2, 3-10 p.m.;
Christmas parade, Dec. 3, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.;
Holiday Festival, Dec. 4, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.;
Monthly Market, Dec. 14, 3-10 p.m.;
Rockin’ the Cloud, Dec. 31-Jan. 1, 5 p.m.-2 a.m.
The 11-passenger van will have “St. Cloud Downtown Shuttle” digitally featured on the upper front window. Its route will have four stops/pickups:
First United Methodist Church parking lot (701 Ohio Ave.);
St. Cloud Shuffleboard parking lot (Ohio and 10th St.);
St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce (1200 New York Ave.);
Lakefront Park.
"The arrangement with Mears, while temporary, continues to be part of a bigger conversation about connecting two of our best business assets: our lakefront and our downtown," said St. Cloud Chamber President/CEO Dirk Webb. "It certainly won’t hurt to have a shuttle available this weekend, but the City continues to look at longer term solutions to helping our downtown business and entertainment district.
Speaking of the Parade: The city has been informed that the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales, which last visited the city in January 2020, will not be available for this year’s Christmas Parade because of a scheduling issue with the semi-trucks that carry the team.
Some 110 entries will still participate in the annual parade, attended by tens of thousands each December. This year’s route takes the parade south on Massachusetts Avenue, east on 12th Street, then back up Florida Avenue to the Lakefront.
The parade starts at 10 a.m., with a 9 a.m. Pre-Parade concert sponsored by Crabby Bills.
