Santa Claus is coming back to Rome in two days as the annual Christmas Parade returns to downtown Rome.

According to parade co-chair Janet Byington, 120 entries I the parade will be led by the Rome High School ROTC honor guard, grand marshal Bob Moore and the Coosa High School Band starting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Click to see a full list of parade entries.

Byington said there are 3,000 people participating in the parade this year, with floats based on this year’s theme of “An Anniversary Christmas – Celebrating 175 Years of Christmas in Rome.”

“We anticipate 15,000 people to watch,” Byington said.

She said the parade would start off at the corner of First Avenue and Broad Street, continuing through downtown to Sixth Avenue, where the parade will take a right turn down Glenn Milner Boulevard to get back to its starting point on East First Avenue and Broad Street.

And bringing up the rear of the parade will be Santa Claus, who after arriving in downtown will then light the Christmas tree in front of the City Auditorium, located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Broad Street.

Byington said that those who wish to see Santa light the tree need to be around City Auditorium before 7:30 p.m. when the tree is scheduled to be lit.

“We do want to encourage safety this year along the parade route,” she said. “We especially want to encourage parents to watch their children closely and not let them run out into the street during the parade.”

She said she thought the best location to watch the parade would be along Broad Street, but that there were a number of good locations considering the route.

Police have also posted notices along Glenn Milner Avenue prohibiting parking along the parade route on Tuesday.

Byington also said that contest winners for parade entries would be announced after the parade.