Red Deer’s downtown streets will be filled with western-theme floats on Wednesday morning when the Westerner Days Fair & Exposition Parade hits the asphalt.
The parade will snake its way around the downtown from 9:30 to 11 a.m. with vehicles, marching bands, floats, livestock and local celebrities.
The parade kicks off Westerner Days, which opens its gates at noon on Wednesday.
Ashley Nelson, marketing and communications assistant manager at Westerner Park, said more than 125 entries are part of the 2019 parade.
“There was lots of support from the community this year. All the spots for floats filled up right away,” Nelson said.
She said many people have posted photos of the work done on their floats to social media, and they look great.
Westerner Days will show off its new float, which has been travelling around central Alberta since May to participate in other parades.
The parade will be held rain or shine.
“It’s free. Bring your family out. Everyone is really excited about it,” Nelson said.
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Watch: Your Westerner Days Parade photos
Liz Taylor, executive director at Tourism Red Deer, said parades attract people of all ages.
“The kids have fun, but so do adults,” Taylor said.
The Westerner Day parade also has a good route that is accessible for people, she said.
The parade route can be seen at westernerdays.ca/off-site/view/parade.
The parade will require multiple road closures and traffic detours, along with transit disruptions.
Roadways on the parade route will be closed from about 9 a.m. to noon and parking will not be permitted along the route.
Transit riders should be aware that the last departure from Sorensen Station prior to the parade will be at 8:45 a.m.
The last arrival into the station before the parade will be at 9:10 a.m. The first departure after the parade will be at 12:15 p.m.
There will be no transit service during the parade, with a couple of exceptions: Route 12 and 2A South Connector will continue to run from Bower Mall; and Bolt will depart at 9:15 a.m. from 49th Avenue and 54th Street.
Transit users can visit www.reddeer.ca/MyBus to look up schedules, get up-to-date departure times and see where buses are in real-time with GPS tracking.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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