The Appleton Flag Day Parade marches down Wisconsin Avenue June 10, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — For 74 years, the Appleton Flag Day Parade has marched down two miles of Wisconsin Avenue, but this year, it’s changing routes.
“We met with the mayor and the chief of police last year,” said Appleton Parades Committee Chair Corey Otis. “We met a few times in the time in between, and in January, we made the tough decision to condense the route down to College Avenue.”
From now on, the Flag Day Parade will use the same route as the Appleton Christmas Parade, from State Street to Drew Street along College Avenue. Otis said the switch was made for safety reasons.
“The previous route was over two miles long, so that caused issues for some of our participants,” he explained. “It’s a long walk on a hot June day. We also had a railroad go through it. But also, there were spots that we just didn’t have the resources to keep everybody safe, in this day and age.”
Otis says that over the years, there have been some bumps and bruises and even a few broken-down cars. With the parade drawing an older crowd, he said it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“We don’t have to look back and say, ‘What could we have done?'” he said. “We want to make sure we work with the police department and the mayor’s office to keep everybody safe.”
As the 75th anniversary of the parade draws near, so does the 250th anniversary of the United States. Otis said this is the perfect year to come out and see the Flag Day Parade celebration.
“It just does compound the reason why we’re here, and that’s to celebrate America, to celebrate our rights and freedoms, and again, to celebrate our community,” he said.
While the parade will be in a different spot, Otis promised it will still offer 20 musical groups, clowns, firetrucks and everything that makes the parade the icon it is.
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