CANTON, OH (July 21, 2009) - 135 parade units will participate in this year's Community Parade on Sunday, Aug. 2, in downtown Canton.
The community-based parade, founded in 1980 as the Junior Parade, offers local and regional groups the opportunity to participate in an exciting, professional event. The 135 parade units will be staged in the Nationwide Insurance Companies parking lot, with units stepping off at 2:30 p.m. from 11th St. N, traveling south on Market Ave. through the downtown area, and disbanding at approximately Second St. S.
Barbara Hammontree Bennett, 2009 General Chairman of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival for the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, will serve as the 2009 Community Parade Grand Marshal.
Spectators at the Community Parade will help determine the "Community Choice Award" winner when they cast a vote for their favorite parade group. Entry forms will be published in The Repository and will be available parade day at the souvenir booths near McKinley Health Care Center, located at 800 Market Ave. N, and near the office of Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, located at 222 Market Ave. N. The winning group will receive a plaque and $100 cash award donated by Spherion Staffing, and will be featured in next year's parade.
The Enshrinement Festival partners with News-Talk 1480 WHBC to produce the telecast of the parade. The television broadcast booth will be relocated this year from its prior location at Eighth St. N, to the "Kresge green space" on Market Ave., between Third and Fourth Sts. N. The Community Parade broadcast will be shown on Canton City Schools Channel 11, Massillon Cable 21, TimeWarner Digital 585, and WIVM-52: Monday, Aug. 3, and Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 8 p.m.
For more information, call Kathy Lindenberger at 330-458-2056, or visit the Enshrinement Festival Web site at www.profootballhofef.com.
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