Dec. 5 on Central Avenue: The Light Parade Is One Part of a Six-Hour Closure
The APS Electric Light Parade steps off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at Central Avenue and Montebello Avenue and ends at 7th Street and Indian School Road. Last year, city officials estimated the parade would wrap up by 8:30 p.m., Phoenix New Times reported. The street closures last much longer. The City of Phoenix closes the route from 5 to 11 p.m.
So the floats take about an hour and a half, and the roads are shut for six. For anyone in North Central, that six-hour window is what to plan around. It covers the busiest restaurant blocks on Central, the corner of Central and Camelback, and a stretch of Camelback lined with places to eat. On Dec. 5, dinner, parking and how you get home all depend on where you are at 5 p.m.
The route follows the same shape as 2025. It heads south on Central from Montebello to Camelback, east on Camelback, then south on 7th Street. The closures are a little different from the route itself:
| Street | Closed segment | Hours on Dec. 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Central Avenue | Camelback Road to Bethany Home Road | 5 to 11 p.m. |
| Camelback Road | 1st Avenue to 7th Street | 5 to 11 p.m. |
| 7th Street | Indian School Road to Osborn Road | 5 to 11 p.m. |
The Central Avenue closure runs all the way north to Bethany Home Road, and the Camelback closure starts a block west of Central at 1st Avenue. That puts much of the Uptown dining strip behind barricades well before the first float moves. If you plan to drive to dinner on Central that night, do it before 5 p.m. or walk.
Most of the closed stretch of Central between Camelback and Bethany Home is restaurants. These are the places on it, each listed with current hours on its own website:
Hours can change on a holiday weekend, so confirm with each restaurant for Dec. 5. Federal Pizza's online reservations help on a night when walk-in plans could get crowded.
Next door at 5202 N. Central Ave., the former Joyride Taco House closed after service on Aug. 2. The new concept, Lado a Lado, is a Sonoran-inspired, wood-fired Mexican restaurant with a parrillada and a raw bar, according to Phoenix New Times. Its official site says it is coming this winter.
Floats leaving Central turn east onto Camelback at the corner held by Uptown Plaza, which sits on the northeast corner of Central and Camelback. The plaza's directory has enough food to handle a full evening on one block:
Let's Toast is at 100 E. Camelback Rd., on the closed section of Camelback. AZ Big Media reported in June that it had opened to the public. AJ's matters for a different reason. It gives spectators somewhere to pick up blankets-and-chairs food on foot once the streets close.
Just west of Central, inside the Camelback closure, sits Joy Lush Club at 24 W. Camelback Rd. In September, Phoenix New Times reported that the bar was partnering with Stoop Kid on a burger kitchen.
The six-hour closure also shapes how spectators set up. The city's attendee guidance is specific:
The vending ban is why the restaurants inside the closure matter. There won't be carts on the sidewalk, so food comes from your own cooler or from the businesses with storefronts on the route. The city also asks spectators to respect the homeowners and businesses along the route and to pack out their trash.
Every 2026 entry spot is already taken, and the city is running a waiting list. Last year, ABC15 counted more than 100 illuminated floats, including marching bands, first responders, nonprofits and Arizona's professional sports teams. North Central News reported that the 2025 theme was "Let It Glow" and that Make-A-Wish Arizona was grand marshal. This year's sponsors include APS, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Fiesta Bowl, Phoenix Children's and NPHX Church.
The city also lists a PHXTV web stream of the parade for anyone who would rather watch from the couch.
The parade lands on a busy weekend in this part of Phoenix, and one of the weekend's regular stops is inside the closure.
On the Saturday, the useful plan starts with the closure map. If you live on the east side of Central, the Uptown Plaza corner and the restaurant row at 5100 to 5200 N. Central are within walking distance once the barricades go up. If you're east of 7th Street, the parade's last leg runs down 7th Street toward Indian School, and that stretch closes from Indian School to Osborn. Wherever you live, a 5 p.m. dinner reservation inside the closure, followed by a short walk to the curb, sets up the rest of the evening.
The barricades come down at 11 p.m., but Central, Camelback and 7th Street are home to Phil Tibi and the team all year. Get the Biltmore Market in Your Pocket, and keep the North Central calendar with you through the holidays.
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