Information For Our Parade Participants
LINEUP: Units should enter the line up from the north (Century Avenue end of Branch St), with entrance to the line-up at the Branch/Maywood intersection. Line-up will take place along Branch Street and at Sauk Trail Elementary School starting at 11:15. Numbers will be posted curbside on white cards so that you know where to line up and await the parade’s start. Please line up behind / north of the card. Do not park on Branch Street prior to 11:15 AM as the street will remain open until then. All people in each unit need to be in place by 11:45 AM so that the parade can start at NOON SHARP!
CHECK-IN: Please check in with someone wearing a yellow reflective vest because we may have last-minute info to share with you. Volunteers wearing yellow reflective vests will be available throughout the staging area and along the parade route to help all units and instruct you to move faster if necessary.
DROP-OFF & PARKING: Best drop-off location is Maywood Avenue near Branch Street. You will NOT be able to turn into Branch Street from University Avenue when dropping off parade participants, as that entrance to Branch Street will be blocked. There will be a lot of people, and we want to avoid any accidents. There is no designated parking for any participants. Street parking is available on many of the side streets along the route and at the high school near the festival grounds.
WEATHER POLICY: The parade will proceed even if there is drizzle or light rain. Lightning or heavy rain will cause the parade to be delayed or cancelled. We will text the contact listed on this form with day-of cancellation info. We look forward to seeing all of our Good Neighbors on Sunday, August 25, 2024!
OTHER INFORMATION AND RULES:
1) This year’s Good Neighbor Festival theme is “Diamond Jubilee” in honor of the festival’s 60th year. We encourage all parade entries to reflect this theme! There will be judges at the reviewing stand (located at the Franklin Ave./Coolidge Court intersection) who will rank each entry according to various categories, with prizes announced on the festival grounds at 3:00 p.m.
2) Our crowds loves giveaways (candy, etc), but anything your unit provides must be handed, NOT THROWN, to attendees. Please enforce this with everyone in your unit, particularly kids who love to throw the candy in handfuls.
3) Comply with directions given by parade volunteers wearing yellow traffic vests.
4) No alcohol, confetti, or silly string.
5) Do not leave behind any trash in the staging area.
6) Help us keep the parade moving! Please keep within 30 feet of the unit in front of you at all times. We typically have 80 to 100 parade entries. To maintain the crowd’s attention, it’s important to keep the parade within 90-120 minutes.
7) We do not allow political campaigning. As a festival that celebrates the entire Middleton community, it is our longstanding practice not to engage in politics or promote any particular candidate for political office; therefore, we do not allow campaigning as part of the parade. The festival’s board of trustees has established a rule that no politicians (either current elected officials or candidates) may participate in the parade, with the exception of Middleton’s mayor and alderpersons.