Everybody loves a parade
Safety forces ensuring tradition stays fun, safe
A little girl couldn’t help but dance to the beat of the marching band drums, one of the highlights of the parade, alongside the high school’s Royalettes dance team last year. File photo
NORTH ROYALTON — A parade is a slice of Americana and the picture-perfect way to celebrate home.
North Royalton’s biggest parade of the year is just that.
The annual Community Festival Parade spotlights every aspect that makes North Royalton great – its businesses, its service clubs, its recreational groups, its churches, its safety forces, its royalty, its youth, its leaders and perhaps the star of the show, its marching band.
The parade steps off at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20 from St. Albert the Great Parish located at 6667 Wallings Road. The route continues west along Wallings Road, turns south onto Ridge Road and continues past the City Green before ending at the North Royalton High School parking lot.
It’s a fun tradition lasting over an hour and is dedicated to all things North Royalton. Outgoing Miss North Royalton 2016 Erin Simonek said you can really feel the community spirit during the parade.
“Growing up in Royalton my entire life, I have always felt that our community truly cares for one another. I love the parade because we can see our community come together in a time of joy to celebrate what this city has to offer. North Royalton is a unique community with many different backgrounds, and the community festival and parade is an outstanding way to celebrate our city and the people that make North Royalton what it is,” she said.
Kids especially love the parade because, for them, it spells candy and lots of it.
But parents and parade participants alike are always reminded to play it safe.
Those in the parade are always asked to avoid throwing candy all together and instead have people on the ground walking the route passing out candy to children. The Community Emergency Response Team will be on active duty, staged throughout the route keeping a watchful eye and making sure people stay back at a safe distance.
To keep the parade a safe fun event, the police department also reminds parents to pay close attention to children who can be tempted to chase after candy into the roadway.
“We will have our volunteer CERT team line the route along the busy area between Bennett and state Route 82. But we ask if you are going to distribute candy, to do so from the curb so children aren’t tempted to run into the road. Kids can get tunnel vision sometimes when it comes to candy,” Safety Director Bruce Campbell said. “We just want everyone to have a great time and enjoy the parade in a safe manner.”
North Royalton’s biggest parade of the year is just that.
The annual Community Festival Parade spotlights every aspect that makes North Royalton great – its businesses, its service clubs, its recreational groups, its churches, its safety forces, its royalty, its youth, its leaders and perhaps the star of the show, its marching band.
The parade steps off at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20 from St. Albert the Great Parish located at 6667 Wallings Road. The route continues west along Wallings Road, turns south onto Ridge Road and continues past the City Green before ending at the North Royalton High School parking lot.
It’s a fun tradition lasting over an hour and is dedicated to all things North Royalton. Outgoing Miss North Royalton 2016 Erin Simonek said you can really feel the community spirit during the parade.
“Growing up in Royalton my entire life, I have always felt that our community truly cares for one another. I love the parade because we can see our community come together in a time of joy to celebrate what this city has to offer. North Royalton is a unique community with many different backgrounds, and the community festival and parade is an outstanding way to celebrate our city and the people that make North Royalton what it is,” she said.
Kids especially love the parade because, for them, it spells candy and lots of it.
But parents and parade participants alike are always reminded to play it safe.
Those in the parade are always asked to avoid throwing candy all together and instead have people on the ground walking the route passing out candy to children. The Community Emergency Response Team will be on active duty, staged throughout the route keeping a watchful eye and making sure people stay back at a safe distance.
To keep the parade a safe fun event, the police department also reminds parents to pay close attention to children who can be tempted to chase after candy into the roadway.
“We will have our volunteer CERT team line the route along the busy area between Bennett and state Route 82. But we ask if you are going to distribute candy, to do so from the curb so children aren’t tempted to run into the road. Kids can get tunnel vision sometimes when it comes to candy,” Safety Director Bruce Campbell said. “We just want everyone to have a great time and enjoy the parade in a safe manner.”