Frances McGahee Parade Application: Growing Together

This year's theme is "Growing Together".

Celebrating shared progress and the strength of community, as Roswell’s youth learn to lead and thrive while building a healthy and positive future.

The parade will begin at Roswell Area Park. The parade route is as follows: Line up at Roswell Area Park, left on Woodstock Road, right on Canton Street, right on Magnolia, and left into First Baptist Church on Mimosa Blvd. Parade applicants will be required to attend one pre-event meeting. This meeting will be held at Roswell City Hall and over Zoom. The meeting will be held on September 24th at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Both of these times will have a zoom link.

1. The Frances McGahee Youth Day Parade will begin at Roswell Area Park, 10495 Woodstock Road, promptly at 10:00 a.m. Load-in is from 7 - 9 a.m. All entries must be lined up by 9:00 a.m.
2. The parade route is approximately 2 miles long, because of the time limitations (the parade must end by 11:30 a.m.), there can be no stops along the parade route. Any performance must take place while in motion. Public Safety and staff will continuously be encouraging swift movement, especially when leaving the park and with pedestrian traffic at the end. Please follow their lead, knowing that it is to keep participants safe and help reopen roadways as quickly as possible.
3. Two-way traffic will be minimized as much as possible during load-in. There are areas that will still have two-way traffic. It is the responsibility of the participants to remain clear of roadways.
4. Entries will be organized by order of their arrival unless staff informs you otherwise. If more than one vehicle, meet offsite to arrive together.
5. All entries must be supervised by an adult aged 18 and older.
6. Motorized vehicles must be driven by a Georgia-licensed driver.
7. Any parade entry with a motorized vehicle, must be accompanied by at least two walkers on each side of the vehicle. Any parade entry with a motorized vehicle and a trailer, must be accompanied by at least four walkers on all sides of vehicle and trailer.
8. All entries must be under 15 feet in height and 12 feet in width. Traffic lights and low tree limbs could be a problem. It is the responsibility of each entry to ensure their float will safely navigate the parade route.
9. Commercially wrapped candy is allowed to be given to parade attendees. Printed material of any kind is not allowed to be handed out along the parade route including: flyers, brochures, business cards, etc. Please remember this is a program honoring and celebrating youth in our community. The purpose of this event is NOT to advertise businesses or political candidates. 

10. If your float is approved to represent a political candidate:
    -the candidate must be present on the float, and

    -candidate must have an affiliation and/or representation to the City of Roswell.

11. Participants must exercise extreme caution when distributing candy to avoid accidents. Candy should be tossed with an underhand motion well away from the vehicles.

12. Drones, tractors, lawn mowers, fireworks, projectiles (other than candy), alcohol, tobacco/vaping products, and handouts are prohibited during the event.

13. Animals - Participants who include animals in the parade will be responsible for cleaning up behind the animals and controlling them along the parade route. There are distractions for animals along the route such as flashing lights, noise, and children.

14. The Mayor’s Award will be presented to the best all-around entry and the Grand Marshal’s Award will be given to the entry that best displays the theme. 1st and 2nd place trophies will be awarded to each of the remaining divisions: High School (9th to 12th grades), Middle School (6th to 8th grades), Elementary School (Preschool to 5th grade), Commercial (businesses), and Civic Clubs. The division is determined by the age of the greatest percentile of youth participating in the entry except in the commercial & Civic Club Divisions.

15. Judging criteria will include creativity, uniqueness, attractiveness, presentation of theme and compliance with the parade rules.