Description

The City's Holiday Parade The City's 2013 annual illuminated Holiday Parade will be held on Saturday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m. This year's theme will be "A Celebration of Lights", in honor of the Memorial Bridge. "'A Celebration of Lights' is a wonderful theme to honor the reopening of the Memorial Bridge, and the illumination which will take place next month", Mayor Eric Spear announced on Monday. Portsmouth's illuminated Holiday Parade traditionally takes place on the first Saturday evening in December, following the Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony which begins at 5:00 p.m. Music is provided from the Portsmouth Middle School during this ceremony and includes the lighting of the downtown Christmas tree at 5:30 p.m. Floats, walking units and marching bands will join Santa Claus as they begin their march from Plaza 800 on Islington Street at 6:00 p.m. and proceed towards downtown, where the road turns into Congress Street. They will continue through Market Square and onto Pleasant Street before reaching the South Playground. As many as 9,000 people are expected to line the 1.1-mile route. To view this map, please visit: http://cityofportsmouth.com/mayor/StagingLocation2013.pdf. Mayor Spear is proud to announce that the Parade, for the third year in a row, will partner with local food pantries to include a food drive. Parade participants and attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate during the parade. There will be stationary food drop-off stations designated throughout the parade. "Donating food during the holidays" says Mayor Spear "is a great way to show support of the community and your neighbors during this season of giving". Applications for this year's Holiday Parade are available on the City's website http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/mayor/index.htm. The deadline to submit applications to enter a float - either on a flatbed trailer, trailer truck or towed behind a vehicle, is Tuesday, November 12. A representative for these entries must attend the Parade Safety meeting on Wednesday, November 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Portsmouth Police Station. The application deadline for all other entries is November 18. Please visit the "Mayor" link on the left side of the City's webpage for more detailed information. For more information, please be sure to contact Brinn Chute at (603) 610-4433 or by email at bchute@cityofportsmouth.com.