Friday, March 25, 2005
Play Ball!
By Alison Momeyer
Grab the red t-shirt out of the closet, bring the banners and the penants, newand old: it’s time for the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade. It’s been going strong since the Reds won the World Series in 1919 and the following year the players inaugurated a new tradition when they rolled downtown in the “Tally Ho Wagon” to the field.
On Monday, April 5, the Reds open their 2005 baseball season with an afternoon game against the New York Mets. But first, the city that loves baseball will come out in full regalia to cheer their team down Race Street with hopes of a winning season.
It’s too late to register a float, but fans and parade-lovers alike can expect to see a wide spectrum of the community represented in the parade, with over 200 entrants. Between 30-50,000 fans are expected to line the streets to watch the 5,000 participants who make up the parade. Included will be merchants, community groups, corporations, 15 horse units, 15 marching bands and even a precision motorcycle team made up of sheriffs from Indiana. The Tally Ho Wagon will be there as well, but don't expect to see any players riding atop, that tradition has not made it to the 21st century.
According to organizer and spokesman Neil Luken of Charles Bare Meats, who has been working on the annual parade for 25 years, the Findlay Market merchants have worked to, “really put on a good show. You’ll see much more than trucks driving by with logos on them. I like to tell people, we really go all out to entertain people.” Luken explains that its been the commitment of the Findlay Market merchants that has sustained the event and developed the parade into the event it is today. He adds, “We don’t have a huge marketing budget down here at Findlay Market, but we get so much exposurebecause of our work on the parade.”
In addition to the floats and the marching bands and the horses, expect to get a glimpse at several local celebs, with the parade marshal to be announced imminently.
The 2005 Findlay Market Opening Day Parade begins at 11:00am in front of the historic market house on Race Street. The parade proceeds south on Race Street from the Findlay Market staging area, east of Fifth Street past Fountain Square and ending at Fifth and Broadway in front of the historic Taft Theatre. The parade length is approximately 1.5 miles with approximately 45 minutes marching time.
The schedule for the parade is as follows: 2005 Findlay Market Opening Day Parade Schedule
8:30 a.m.: Streets in Marshalling area closed. Entries may begin to arrive.
9:30 a.m.: Float contest registration
10:00 a.m.: Float contest judging begins
11:00 a.m.: Parade begins at Findlay Market
11:30 a.m.: Parade arrives at Fountain Square
1:00 a.m.: Approximate ending time for Parade at Fifth and Broadway
2:10 a.m.: Game Time: Cincinnati Reds versus New York Mets
Findlay Market merchants made parade happen
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Play Ball!
4/2/2005, Downtown
Fans are expected to take to the street in downtown Cincinnati for baseball's annual Findlay Market Opening Day Parade.
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Alison Momeyer is a freelance writer working amidst the chaos produced by
her five-year-old daughter and three-year-old twin boys.
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