Local parade planning begins months in advance

With temperatures in the teens and below, many Bloomington residents are looking forward to warmer temperatures and outdoor activities, including parades and festivals.

City officials said planning for some of those events is already underway.

Three parades taking place in the Bloomington area — the Bloomington Fourth of July parade, the Monroe County Fall Festival in Ellettsville and Harrodsburg Heritage Days Festival — require months of preparation.

Bill Ream, community events coordinator for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation department, said in an email the planning process for the Fourth of July Parade begins when the committee selects the theme in late January to early February.

“Over the next few months, the committee works on a variety of tasks necessary to hold the parade, including securing the sponsors, obtaining all permits, securing the staging lots, hiring security, renting equipment needed and securing the help of the police departments,” Ream said.

Monroe County Fall Festival parade director Anne Howard said she and her committee of volunteers adopted a similar approach.

However, the parade route includes Indiana State Road 46, and therefore permissions from the Indiana Department of Transportation also need to be obtained, Howard said.

The parade for Harrodsburg Heritage Days required nearly a year of preparation, said chairman of the parade and Clear Creek Township trustee Thelma Kelley Jeffries.

The parade requires the closing of Popcorn Road, a main street, as well as planning and preparation to organize and number all of the parade entries.

Jeffries said the parade has had as many as 150 entries and in previous years has attracted a crowd of about 4,000 people.

Jeffries said a state official from Indianapolis once visited the parade and was astonished.

“They were amazed that a small community could do what we’re doing,” Jeffries said.  
In recent years, there has been a decline in participants for the committees for both the Heritage Days and the Fall Festival.

Howard said her committee has also experienced a loss in numbers as the members continually grow older.

“I’m really afraid that if the younger generation doesn’t step up, this could be no more,” Howard said.

However, after months of planning, Howard said it was worth it to see the excitement on the faces of the young children.

“You always remember parades,” Howard said.