Exciting news indeed!

Organizers with the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival have announced they are shifting gears and holding one of their most popular events the traditional way this year, in-person in downtown Cedar Rapids.

According to a press release, "that means the participants will be moving, and guests will be along the route." Pretty simple, but so exciting for fans of the parade, whose theme this year will be "United We Stand".

Mark the date and time, Saturday, June 26 from 10-noon. The route has been identified as well and according to the release, will be similar to previous parades that were held downtown, using 2nd and 3rd Avenues between 1st and 6th Streets instead of NewBo and Czech Village. The judging booth will be in Greene Square downtown.

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This is a change from a previous announcement that saw the Freedom Festival unveil plans for several events that included a "walk-thru parade". It would have included stationary entries that parade-goers could have "walked thru" but that's no longer the case with the real parade happening. The Balloon Glow is back as an in-person event (with limited capacity) at Hawkeye Downs (a new location for it) as well, and you can learn about the rest of the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival schedule here

With the last-minute news of the return of the in-person parade, there's still time to sign up as an entry, through June 16, here. As noted by KCRG, this decision was indeed made in conjunction with Linn County Public Health to assure it could be done safely.

 

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