PARTICIPATION

 

All participants under an organization agree to notify each participant of these Guidelines and Rules & Regulations. All accepted units are responsible for all their own cost/expenses associated with performing in the parade. Parade participants must stay in their assigned staging location unless otherwise instructed by a parade official. Failure to do so will result in your unit being pulled from the parade.

 

 

CANDY, PAMPHLETS, HANDOUTS, ETC

 

If your group is distributing candy, prizes or any other material, your group must have an adult walker beside each tire and behind the float or vehicle to ensure spectators or children do not reach near or under the vehicles.

 

Candy or giveaways may be handed to the crowd and must be distributed hand-to-hand by walking along the parade route next to the spectators and never from a float or vehicle. Any group throwing overhand or directly at a spectator will be asked to stop and will not be invited to participate in subsequent parades.

 

 

 

VEHICLES AND FLOATS

 

Reckless or dangerous driving will not be tolerated.

 

All motorized vehicles and/or floats submitted through the Parade application, who are accepted, must be licensed, registered and insured. Additionally, all drivers operating these vehicles must be at least 18 years of age. Insurance, identification, and other paperwork must be submitted as proof to the Chicago Federation of Labor/Parade Organizers. In case of any changes, the Chicago Federation of Labor/Parade Organizers should be notified.

 

All vehicles should be checked thoroughly for gas, water, oil, etc. prior to the start of the parade. An antique vehicle is defined as, 20 years or older, and must be in good running condition.

 

Each pulled float must have a spotter in the pulling vehicle, other than the driver, viewing the back and communicating with the driver if/when a problem arises. If no one is present, spotter must be present beside the float. All vehicles in the parade must be able to navigate the entire parade route and make all turns and clearances without difficulty. It is the responsibility of each driver/entrant/spotter to see to it that their float clears all obstacles (tree limbs, traffic lights, overhanging utility wires, etc).

 

Children below the age of 18 that are riding in the back of pickup trucks must always be seated behind rails or sides of the truck. Trucks must have closed tailgates or enclosed backs. No parade participant may ride with feet hanging over the side of the float/vehicle. There always needs to be at least one (1) adult per five (5) children below the age of 16 on the float. The adult must be associated with the organization sponsoring the float.

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All floats, vehicles, trailers, and tow-vehicles must be equipped with working brake lights and properly inflated tires. All floats and trailers must be pulled by a motorized tow vehicle, and all floats and trailers must be attached to tow vehicles with safety chains. No persons may ride on top or on the sides of any fire trucks and/or other equipment that is in the parade. The number of persons allowed to ride in the cab of the fire truck/farm equipment shall equal the number of seatbelts available.

 

 

ANIMALS

 

Animals must have updated vaccinations and be in good medical health and be able to cope with crowds and other animals. If your entry includes animals, such as horses, you are expected to have a waste detail walking immediately behind your entry with the appropriate shovels and buckets. If you do not have the appropriate clean-up detail, entry in the parade will be denied.

 

You are always expected to maintain control of your animal(s); riders not exhibiting control will be removed from the parade for their own and spectator safety. Animals must be kept on a leash or other restraint. Entrants are not permitted to allow animals any contact with parade spectators.

 

 

ROUTE PROCESSION

 

Entries must maintain steady movement of the parade with 20 to 30 feet between each entry. At no time may any vehicle travel at more than 5 mph to help reduce gaps. Vehicles should limit their speed to the pace of a slow walk (approximately 5 miles per hour) and stay within two car-lengths of the preceding entry.

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This is a controlled, forward-motion parade. If your entry experiences problems during the parade, please exit the parade route immediately and locate a volunteer for assistance. We do not want to block or delay the procession for any reason.

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Please take into consideration that marching bands may move at a slower pace due to hot and humid weather. All participants should be aware of the possibility of heat exhaustion and look for signs of fatigue in your marchers. Participants are encouraged to bring plenty of drinking water for their members.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

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Alcoholic beverages and other controlled substances are forbidden on and along the parade route. This policy includes all staging and disband areas. Participants consuming said substances prior to or during the parade will not be allowed to participate and will be removed from the line of march. Bottled water and soda cans are permitted but no glass containers are allowed. Smoking is not allowed at any time.

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In order to limit clean-up costs, each entry is required to be equipped with plastic trash bags for depositing trash and litter accumulated by the entry’s participants before, during and after the parade. The staging area shall be left as clean as you found it. Failure to do may result in you being removed from the parade and barred from future participation.

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Use of any political sign, social or political material — unless for a political campaign — or improper use of the American flag is not permitted.