Applications for the 2012 parade are available now. All parade groups must fill out an application before the deadline – March 17. There is a limit to how many groups we can fit in the parade so don’t be late; spots fill up fast, apply early!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Festival Mile Race – 6:00pm
Parade – 6:30pm
Festival Concessions – 6:00-9:00pm
It’s a beautiful, balmy, breezy evening in Ithaca; the kind of evening that makes you turn your face to the warm sun and smile. The kind of evening that makes you excited to walk down to the Commons and happy to live in Ithaca, home to great traditions. In Fall Creek, the sidewalks are starting to fill up with lawn chairs and blankets as neighbors stake out the best views. Dewitt Park Concessions is sizzling and the smells of hotdogs, hamburgers and fresh-squeezed lemonade are in the air, tantalizing your taste buds and bringing the promise of summer. The sun gets lower and the excitement level gets higher. The streets are now packed, the Button Brigade is out in full force, the crowd is pressing to the edge of the streets looking for the first signs of movement. And there, suddenly a figure appears, sprinting fluidly down the street. And then, in a flurry of activity, the Ithaca Festival parade begins. A slew of racing figures, all shapes and ages, come charging down the street. And then closely following, the first resounding notes of the parade. The clamorous sounds blend together in that special way that you can only find at a parade. Down the street comes everything you can imagine: giant dancing puppets, green tubas, dogs dressed as fairies, walking trees, miniature Darth Vadars, colorful banners and costumes, enormous floats and of course, a chainsaw marching band. It’s the Ithaca Festival Parade. Exhilarating, melodious, comical and truly Ithaca.
The parade runs south on Cayuga St. from Lewis St. to Dewitt Park
Festival Concessions – Dewitt Park – Hotdogs, hamburgers, treats, fresh-squeezed lemonade
For more information about the Ithaca Festival Mile contact the Ithaca Youth Bureau.
Phone: 607-273-8364