This year marks the 143rd annual Donation Day Parade in downtown Grass Valley, to be held on Friday, December 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. This long-standing tradition of helping local families in need has been carried on by the Grass Valley Ladies Relief Society since its inception in 1873.
Beginning back then with children bringing a stick of wood and one potato to school to be bagged and distributed to the most needy families, this annual tradition has grown, still with the premise of generosity and giving to those families in need. Now, together with the City of Grass Valley and the Ladies Relief Society, donations of canned goods are collected in the schools as well as on the day of the parade and then taken to Interfaith Food Ministry where they will be distributed with additional holiday foods throughout the season.
The parade of school children, led by the Grass Valley Ladies Relief Society members as well as bag pipers, will begin at Neal and South Church Streets, traveling along West Main Street and down Mill Street, concluding at Neal and Mill Streets. Spectators and the public are encouraged to bring canned goods, which will be collected into boxes on Mill Street for distribution at Interfaith.