The 44th Annual
Downtown Appleton
Christmas Parade
“The Avenue of Lights”
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
September 2, 2014
Dear Prospective Christmas Parade Participant:
Appleton Downtown Inc. (ADI) and the City of Appleton Christmas Parade Committee are proud to present the 44th Annual Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade, to be held on Tuesday, November 25, 2014. We would like to invite you to apply for entry into this year’s parade. The theme for this year’s parade is “The Avenue of Lights”. All floats and walking units should display their excitement for this universal message.
The Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade is the largest nighttime parade in the Midwest. Last year's parade drew approximately 80,000 spectators to Downtown Appleton. Additionally, a television audience of over 100,000, view the parade live and during rebroadcasts on CBS 5, WFRV-TV and WJMN, Channel 3.
The parade will begin at 6:20 p.m. and will move down College Avenue from State Street to Drew Street. Due to the unpredictable weather this time of year, we must limit the number of units in the parade. The Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade has become so popular that we cannot always accommodate everyone who wishes to enter. Regardless, we encourage all entries and attempt to include as many as possible. Units are strongly encouraged (but not required) to use the theme “The Avenue of Lights”. Several guidelines have been set to help the selection committee determine final entries. They are as follows:
1) Applicants will be accepted in the following commercial and non-commercial categories:
a) Floats
b) Bands
c) Animals with insurance, (including carriages, horse-drawn vehicles and animal walking units)
d) Vehicles (Single units, including cars, trucks, buses, etc.)
e) Walking Units
2) All entries must be of a non-commercial Christmas theme and be decorated accordingly. This parade is designed to entertain families, especially children; it is not a commercial endeavor. The City of Appleton Parade Committee will eliminate any entry not in compliance. Therefore, floats are encouraged to display their name or sponsor on the float only in a non-commercial manner.
3) No entry can display Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus. The parade committee will provide the Santa and Mrs. Claus. (More than one Santa confuses the children.) (Continued on back page)
4) Applications must be received on or before September 30, 2014.
5) A detailed description of your entry must accompany the application. City of Appleton Parade Committee acceptance will depend on the detailed description of your entry. This also enables the committee to line up the best possible parade. This information must be received no later than Friday, November 7th.
6) Your acceptance in the 44th Annual Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade will be confirmed via mail/e-mail on or before October 14th, 2014. Those entries that are not accepted will also be notified.
7) The parade committee does not allow anything to be thrown or handed to spectators on the sidelines. We must take this stance for safety purposes and any group in violation may be removed from the parade list in the following years. This rule will be strictly enforced.
As is tradition, three traveling trophies will be awarded to the best entries in the following categories:
1) The Appleton Downtown Inc. Trophy – Best Commercial Entry
2) The Christmas Parade Trophy – Best Non-Commercial Entry
3) The Bernie Pearlman Memorial Trophy – Best Entry “In the Eyes of a Child”
Selected dignitaries and children from the Fox Cities will determine the winning entries.
Please contact Djuanna Hugdahl or Greg Otis at the Appleton Downtown Inc. office at (920) 954-9112 if you have any questions about the 2014 Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade. You can also find information on the web at www.appleton.org. or www.wfrv.com. We look forward to receiving your entry.
Sincerely,
Greg Otis
Parade Chairman, City of Appleton
SAVE THE DATE: The second Saturday of June each year sees Appleton honor “Old Glory” with one of the oldest and largest Flag Day Parades in the nation. The 65th Annual Appleton Flag Day Parade will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2015. Join the City of Appleton, ADI, thousands lining the parade route and all of Northeastern Wisconsin (through rebroadcast of the parade by WFRV-TV 5) as a participant. Applications will be available mid-March, 2015, at www.appleton.org or by contacting the ADI office. Save the date for the 65th Annual Appleton Flag Day Parade: Saturday, June 13, 2015.