Knoxville’s 97th Veterans Day Parade, organized by the American Legion Post 2 with support from the city’s Office of Special Events, will take place Friday.
At least 85 parade units will participate in the event, including 10 area high school marching bands, vintage military vehicles, and local businesses and organizations. This year’s parade honors female veterans. The Grand Marshal will be World War II veteran Eileen Neiler.
The 97th Veterans Day Parade will march down Gay Street Friday, Nov. 11. Hill Avenue will close to traffic at 8 a.m. (limiting access to Dwight Kessel Garage) and the Gay Street Bridge will be closed during the parade. More info: https://t.co/EPZdUdztNi pic.twitter.com/XbRk9IWP62
— City of Knoxville (@CityKnoxvilleTN) November 7, 2022
The parade will span most of Gay Street through downtown, according to a press release by the City of Knoxville.
As such, parking on Gay Street will be prohibited starting at 8 a.m. In addition, Hill Avenue between Gay Street and Hall of Fame Drive will be closed to local traffic from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the Gay Street Bridge will be closed from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the city notes.
There will be free parking at all city-owned garages and metered spaces off the parade route on Veterans Day. Dwight Kessel Garage is also open for free parking, with access prior to and during the parade limited to the entrance on South Central Street.
According to the city, the parade will begin at 10:40 a.m. at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum on Hill Avenue and proceed north on Gay Street. The procession will briefly stop at 11 a.m. near Mast General Store for an Honor Guard ceremony, the playing of the national anthem, and the swearing-in of new Air Force recruits. The parade will then continue down Gay Street and turn onto Magnolia Avenue, where it will conclude.
According to its website, the American Legion Post 2 has been organizing the Veterans Day parade in Knoxville for 97 years in order to “continue the tradition to honor and celebrate veterans of the United States of America.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Veterans Day Parade” by Visit Knoxville.
Tennesseans and all Americans for that matter need to think CRITICALLY of the war that they send their fellow citizens into instead of mindlessly supporting the President and Pentagon. Show that we REALLY care about our veterans and young people!