GRAND PARADE
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12  11:00 am

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A BIG, FRIENDLY PARADE!
 

 
The dictionary definition of a parade calls it a “public celebration” with “many people and groups moving down a street…”. Ho Hum.

The REAL definition of a parade is what takes place at 11 o’clock on Saturday morning, October 12, 2024, moving down Main Street in Ligonier, Pa.
It’s the central event of Fort Ligonier Days — a Western Pennsylvania autumn ritual that both spectators and participants have looked forward to for over half a century.


It’s BIG!

Fifty to Sixty thousand people will pack Main Street’s picturesque mile of tree-lined pavement to watch it. They will crowd around the bandstand and buildings of Ligonier’s beautiful Diamond, at the halfway point, to enjoy a seemingly endless stream of high school, college and civic marching bands, 18th and 19th century military re-enactors, community floats, the ever popular Shriner units, antique and exotic cars, vintage commercial and military vehicles, tractors, wheeled novelties, surprises galore.

It’s FRIENDLY!

Somehow, this parade, for all its size, exudes a hometown warmth and friendliness. Participants and spectators trade greetings along the route. Spontaneous applause, laughter and cheers ripple through the throng at the sight of a familiar band or marching unit. Family and class reunions, some planned, some “of the moment,” unfold on the lawns and porches along Main Street as the parade goes by.

If you love marching bands you can look forward to the high energy performance of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania band — now in its second century of representing IUP. You’ll also see some of the biggest and most storied high school bands from Western Pennsylvania and beyond, such as the Butler High School Golden Tornadoes; the fabled “Mohigans” of Morgantown High School, in West Virginia; the Franklin Regional High School Panthers, and popular units from Westmoreland and adjoining counties.

A large band from Trinity Christian School, in North Versailles, will be making its first appearance in the parade, and units like the massed drummers of the Pittsburgh Steeline and the pipers of the Pittsburgh Firefighters Memorial band will add to the excitement.

Come early, hit the food booths, find a spot, and get ready to enjoy a small town’s biggest parade — one that vibrantly defines what a parade is all about.