Registration is open for veterans’ organizations and others to participate in the first Philadelphia Veterans Parade on Sunday, Nov. 8, in Center City.
To register, interested participants can visit the parade website www.phillyveteransparade.org and complete the one-page online form by Oct. 1.
Participation is open to all in the city and in the three-state region for the parade, which will start at noon at Broad and Walnut streets.
The parade will focus on veterans through history. It will also commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War and the 25th anniversary of Desert Shield.
Veterans of all eras, military units, civic and youth groups (including Junior ROTC), businesses and high school marching bands will participate.
Any entity that supports veterans is encouraged to join the parade, said Scott Brown, director of the Philadelphia Veterans Commission, which is organizing the event.
Registration is required to facilitate planning and for security purposes, he added. Brown said that it’s being held on Nov. 8 so it will highlight and not interfere with traditional Veterans Day observances on Nov. 11.
Brown and the commission have formed a committee of more than 50 veterans’ representatives, including those from the public and private sectors, to form the parade. Overseeing the organization of the event is Bob McMahon, Media’s mayor and the organizer of one of the most successful Memorial Day parades in the region.
“The interest already has been overwhelming and very gratifying,” said Brown, who expects more than 100 groups to participate.
The commission has been seeking participation from a variety of organizations and has commitments from both the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, who will be facing each other in the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia on Dec. 12.
A number of local ROTC units and Medal of Honor recipients are also expected to attend.
The one-mile parade route has been set. It will start at noon at Broad and Walnut, travel north on Broad around City Hall, east on Market Street before ending at Independence Hall. WPVI Channel 6-ABC will be broadcasting the event live from the start until 1:30 p.m. ••
