For the safety and well-being of participants and spectators of the parade, the established set of rules will be strictly enforced. Parade marshals are in place to ensure the safety of spectators and participants. The Champaign County Freedom Celebration Committee, and the parade marshals, have the authority to remove any entrant from the parade for failure to comply with these rules:
- Item (including candy) distribution is allowed with the following restrictions: Items must be handed to spectators; throwing of items is strictly prohibited, no political handouts. Only prepackaged candy is allowed.
- All vehicles and floats must be decorated and are encouraged to depict this year’s theme.
- Maximum height of a unit is not to exceed thirteen (13) feet. Maximum length is limited to two (2) vehicles. Exceptions may be considered for floats – contact parade chair listed below.
- Floats and entries must be constructed of fire‐retardant materials and equipped with a fire extinguisher (subject to inspection).
- Gaps in the parade should be avoided. To reduce gaps, vehicles should limit their speed to the pace of a slow walk (approximately 2 miles per hour) and stay within two car‐lengths of the preceding entry. Please take into consideration that marching bands and balloon handlers may move at a slower pace.
- Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
- Horse units are encouraged but must designate an individual to clean up after horses at the staging area AND during the parade. Horse units without a designated person will not be allowed to enter the line‐up.
- For safety reasons, only floats and vehicles that are IN the parade will be allowed into the staging area. Anyone who is dropping someone off to be in the parade can park in the north section of the E‐14 parking lot. Marching band students should be dropped off in the high school marching bands staging area which is in the SW lot of the State Farm Center.
- All Drivers must be licensed and Vehicles must be insured and will be checked at check in. (Horse Drawn and Tractors is not included in this).
These rules are in place to provide a safe and enjoyable parade experience for everyone. The Champaign County Freedom Celebration Committee assumes no responsibility or liability in the event of injury or accident. Parade line‐up and staging assignments will be distributed at the end of June.
Please direct any questions to:
The Parade Chair at ccfcparade@gmail.com
