Major League Baseball announced plans yesterday for a huge parade to commemorate the last season at the original Yankee Stadium. Major League Baseball Executive VP Tim Brosnan says the event "should and will rival the great parades of New York City history."
The parade will be part of the celebrations for the 2008 All Star Game, which is taking place at the stadium on July 15. Unlike the ticker tape bashes held when the Yankees were actually winning games, this "red carpet parade" will be held in Midtown instead of in the Financial District's "Canyon of Heroes."
The parade will travel along 6th Avenue from 40th to 58th Street. Marchers will include the 2008 MLB All Stars along with legendary baseball Hall of Famers. As far as we're concerned, though, the only real baseball parades should involve a World Series win. These MLB execs can throw all the gala corporate-sponsored events they want and it won't make up for the fact that they're demolishing the House That Ruth Built.
The New York Giants celebrated their Super Bowl upset today with a ticker tape parade through lower Manhattan. Office workers were hanging out their windows while rabid fans lined Broadway to cheer on game MVP Eli Manning, David Tyree, Justin Tuck and the rest of the team.
While today's was the first ticker tape parade in the city since 2000, they used to be an almost-every-day occurrence. To take a walk through history, you can hike down the Canyon of Heroes, between City Hall and the Bowling Green. Set into the sidewalk are black granite strips with the dates of parades and the people they've honored.
Among the famous folks who've had multiple parades are Charles de Gaulle, Dwight Eisenhower, John Glenn and Amelia Earhart. Adventurer Richard Byrd managed to earn three events with his exploits at the North and South poles. For a full guide to all the history in the area, hit up the Downtown Alliance, which publishes a guide to the Canyon of Heroes.
We can't usually think much beyond midnight on December 31 but it seems that if you're in London as 2008 arrives, you should be aiming to keep yourself fit enough to enjoy the New Year's Day Parade on January 1.
Running for over twenty years and now featuring 10,000 performers, the organizers say it's the biggest New Year's Day event of its kind--we're not surprised, since most people find it hard to get out of bed on January 1. If you can make it to London, though, you'll be treated to marching bands, Charlie Chaplin lookalikes, circus performers and samba dancers, all to be enjoyed with a crowd of half a million spectators.
The parade route runs two miles around many of London's famous spots, and a nice thing about it is that the goal of the event is to raise money for London charities. It sounds like the place to be if you're welcoming in 2008 in London--hangover or not.
Who doesn't love a parade? In New York City, parade season kicked off over a month ago with Israeli Day, but that pomp and circumstance paled next to yesterday's Puerto Rican Day Parade. The annual procession crept up Fifth Avenue from 44th to 86th Street, the anticipation of which caused entire subway cars to shout, "Boricua!" (That's what the original inhabitants of the island, the Taino Indians, called themselves.) Ricky Martin (San Juan-born!) presided over the parade as its king and helped NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (not Puerto Rican) kick it off at 44th Street. Jennifer Lopez (of Puerto Rican heritage, but born in the Bronx) and husband Marc Anthony (also a Boricua born in New York) rode on a float promoting their new movie, "El Cantante," about his compatriot, singer Hector Lavoe.
Stay tuned later this summer for the Gay Pride Parade, Brooklyn Independence Day Parade (who knew they were independent?) and the African-American Day Parade. You never know who you might see -- and let's face it, everyone enjoys a parade except out-of-towners trying to drive along its route.
Sunday, Santa Monica Boulevard will close its roadway for the people who patron most of its shops. The Pride 2007 Parade struts down the boulevard from Fairfax Avenue to Doheny Drive starting at 11 a.m.
A poll on the site asks attendees their motivations for attending the parade. It found 25 percent want to end hate, 25 percent hope for marriage equality, 23 percent are looking to find love, 8 percent are prompted by activism, and 4 percent by a love of volunteerism. Finally, 16 percent of attendees are simply searching for the perfect martini, they say. That's 101 percent. Apparently "mastering basic math" isn't one of the incentives.
With Paris chained to her mansion, looks like newly-out former NBA player John Amaechi will take on grand marshal duties this year.
This Saturday, two activities will merge like they should've ages ago. In fact, they're our three-year-old niece's two favorite activities -- dancing and parades. New York's First Annual Dance Parade kicks off May 19 at 1 p.m. The parade and festival are in the same free-for-all, fun-loving spirit as other New York institutions like Art Parade and Burning Man. Attendees will pirouette, tap, and shimmy down Broadway from 32nd Street to 13th Street.
Sure, parades have always had their fair share of dancing. But Dance Parade doesn't discriminate by genre (or even skill level). Plus, it's the end-all purpose of the event. Forget about your silly national pride or charity cause, Dance Parade is just a few thousand friends getting down.
Caution! Airborne canine! A couple of enterprising parade-goers at this year's Fiesta San Antonio Pooch Parade decided to make their own float... with several balloons and tiny harnesses. It's safe to say, of the approximately 750 dogs who marched in the parade, these probably had the best view.
Sure, that dog doesn't look like it's having a good time at the city's annual celebration of the Battle of San Jacinto and the torching of the Alamo, but maybe that's because it hasn't had the chance to kick back on the Riverwalk and drink a margarita yet.
Everyone knows the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, but there's more parading to be done on Thursday, November 23, and all around the country at that. If you have kids to humor, dig Pikachu balloons, or simply want to use the excuse of catching the "sick" skills of marching band snare drummers, several cities around the country are hosting events. After the jump is a smattering of local options--all are free and take place on Thursday, though some provide premium seating at a price. For an alternative option, or simply an appetizer, tomorrow's Turkey Testicle Festival in Huntley, IL, awaits. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like.
