Thursday is the last day to get your entry in for the Lake Forest Day Parade, which takes place the morning of Aug. 5 (the carnival begins the night of Aug. 4). The parade includes a few changes due to Western Avenue being a construction zone, and while you don't exactly have to plan a skinny float, you should be mindful that the staging area is in a new, much more narrow spot this year.
"That's my main concern, that we have less staging room this year," said Parade Chairman Vinnie Dolan of American Legion Post 264, which sponsors Lake Forest Day. "It's going to be OK–we'll make it work. We'll just have to maneuver people differently."
In previous years, the parade's staging area was held on the north end of downtown near the Grille on Laurel. This year, it's being held south of downtown on Western Avenue between Vine Street and Ryan Lane. CVC, Egg Harbor and other businesses will be open during the staging, and Chiefs Pub has offered to act as a cooling station for parade marchers who get over-heated. Another change is the drop-off time. Mr. Dolan said people used to drop their entries off the night before the parade or as early at 7 a.m. the day of—that's not possible this year. "The staging starts at 9 a.m. and you need to come at 9 a.m.," he said, because Western will be open to traffic prior to that. The parade will start at 10 a.m. at Vine, proceed north on Western to Westminster, west on Westminster to Summit and right to the carnival at West Park.
Ramesh Kanapareddy, assistant cityengineer, said the City has been in close talks with the police and parade planners to ensure a safe route. "Traffic will be controlled with our police force and Legion volunteers. Motorists are being notified, signs are already up about the parade date and the streets that are to be closed. The only problem we foresee is the weather! We are praying for a pleasant forecast."
For more information on Lake Forest Day, please visit Post 264's website.
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