If you regularly view the annual Vernon Winter Carnival Parade from near the Vernon Court House, or on 30th Avenue before the floats, clowns, and bands get to the railway tracks, you'll miss the parade this year.
The Vernon Winter Carnival Society is reminding folks that the annual parade, slated for 12 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, has a new route.
"The staging area will be between 45th and 48th Avenues, but 48th Avenue will remain open," said society director Camille McCluskey. "The parade will run along 27th Street south from 45th Avenue to 32nd Avenue."
McCluskey said there will be a dedicated closure of 27th Street from 32nd Avenue to 30th Avenue to allow for floats to dismantle post-parade, and for children and others involved to be picked up. There will also be some de-staging set up on 29th Street behind Beairsto Elementary School.
The parade is expected to last between 30 and 45 minutes, and McCluskey said people should begin lining up along 27th Street "at their regular times."
The parking lot at Tim Hortons and Triple O's on the corner at 35th Avenue will be used for care home buses so seniors and shut-ins can view the parade.
The route change was made necessary for safety reasons.
For years, the parade would turn right onto 30th Avenue and head west to 29th Street before turning right again and heading north to 32nd Avenue. It would turn left on 32nd and head south to 31st Street, where it would turn right, head north, and end at the old Vernon Civic Arena parking lot.
When the arena was torn down, the parking lot was still available to dismantle the floats and pick people up. But when the city constructed Civic Memorial Park on 37th Avenue, things started to get hairy at parade's end.
"We had directors on 39th Avenue and 29th Street trying to keep cars from jumping the barriers," said McCluskey.
The decision not to go down 30th Avenue was because of the parade route interfering with the bus loop.
"Carnival had multiple meetings with the city and a representative of the DVA (Downtown Vernon Association) to go over what would be the best route," said McCluskey. "We wish we could still go down 30th Avenue but we are emphasizing safety.
"We hope the people will still come out and support the parade, support our non-profit organization run by volunteers, and still support the businesses on 30th Avenue."
There is no dedicated parking for the parade, save for the seniors' buses, so parade-goers are responsible for finding their own parking spots.
