BRADENTON, FL — The start of Saturday night’s De Soto Grand Parade will be delayed allowing bad weather to pass, organizers wrote in a Facebook post.
“We will be delaying the start of the parade by about 45 minutes to 7:45 (p.m.) to let the expected squall line pass,” the Hernando De Soto Historical Society wrote. “Shelter in the (Manatee) High School cafeteria is available while we wait. Lots of floats and excited people in staging.”
Check the historical society’s Facebook page for weather and event updates throughout the evening.
With over 150 entries, the De Soto Grand Parade is one of the largest and oldest parades in the Southeastern United States, according to the historical society’s website.
More than 100,000 people line the streets of Bradenton to view the illuminated floats and catch a glimpse of the new Hernando de Soto, Captain of the Crewe, and the newly crowned Queen and Princess. Beads, coins and other fun items are handed to the crowd throughout the night.
The parade was scheduled to start off Saturday, 7 p.m., at Manatee High School and march through Bradenton.
Manatee, Sarasota and other West and Central Florida counties are currently in a tornado watch until 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy thunderstorms are expected Saturday afternoon and evening overnight into Sunday morning, AccuWeather said.
Parade organizers have been watching the weather forecasts all day and, ultimately, decided not to cancel the event.
“This parade requires months of planning by organizers and krewes who come from Tampa, Tallahassee, Ft. Walton, Mobile, Alabama, Wisconsin and more,” the historical society wrote on Facebook. “Also, Manatee Ave is a state road so permits have to come from the state and the cities of Bradenton and Palmetto, and Manatee County. Long-distance travel, hotels, airline reservations, etc. are all part of the planning. Even if we could reschedule, we wouldn’t have the dozens of Krewes or floats here.”
Despite the delay to the parade, road closures will still begin at 5 p.m., Bradenton police tweeted.
The following roads will close Saturday evening:
- The Green Bridge in both directions.
- Manatee Avenue W. between 1st Street W. and 43rd Street W.
- 39th Street W. between 9th Avenue W. and Manatee Avenue.
- 9th Avenue W. between 30th Street W. and 39th Street W.
The De Soto Bridge will remain open for drivers traveling between Bradenton and Palmetto, police said.
Following the parade, roads will reopen once pedestrian traffic has cleared and the streets are clean.
Source: patch.com