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Greetings!
Below is information regarding your participation in the George Washington Birthday Parade on Monday, February 20 in Old Town Alexandria from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Order of March: Please review the Order of March for the Parade. The Order of March contains your Division and Parade Order Number, which will show you where your parade unit will line up in the Assembly Area and what your order will be in the parade. Any updated version of the March of Order will be posted at wwwwashingtonbirthday.com under “Parade”.
Parade Route and Parade Assembly Area Maps: As previously announced, the 2023 parade will follow a one-time only special edition parade route, since it will be held in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Hundreds of freemasons who are in Alexandria for Memorial events will march in the parade.
You can view maps of the Parade Route and Parade Assembly Area here, and you also will be able to find them at www.washingtonbirthday.com on Parade Day. The Start Point will be at the corner of N. Fayette & Pendleton Streets, and the Parade Review Stand will be situated at King Street & Commonwealth Avenue (see green dots on Parade Route Map for parade route). Freemasons will continue to the Memorial (blue dots on Map), and other parade participants will turn right after passing the Review Stand and then turn right on Cameron Street (yellow lines on Map). These units will be released from the parade when they cross the Release Point located by Jefferson Houston School on Cameron Street.
Parking and Transportation: Parking has been problematic, and we have not been able to accommodate all requests for parking permits. Those receiving parking permits will be notified by individual emails. Road closures that are identified in the link provided above will be closed from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m on Parade Day. Below are other means of parking and/or transportation on Parade Day:
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You can find a list of public parking garages in the Old Town area here. Please note that you will not be able to access any garage within the Parade Route area or Parade Assembly area after streets close at 10:00 a.m.
- DASH Bus will operate free shuttle buses from 11:30 a.m. to 3:3o p.m. from the Eisenhower Metro Stop (24o0 Eisenhower Avenue) to the corner of Pendleton and Henry Streets, near the Parade Start Point.
- DASH buses will be running on Parade Day on a holiday schedule. See dashbus.com for more information. All DASH buses are free all of the time.
- Metro (Blue line) will be running to the Braddock Road Metro stop near Start Point on a holiday schedule. See wmata.com for more information.
- Please note that the Alexandria Trolley will not be running on King Street on Parade Day.
Parade Vehicle Passes. " If you have a vehicle in your parade unit, please arrange for it to arrive at your assigned Division by 11:00 a.m., given the heavy pedestrian traffic within the Assembly Area on Parade Day. Please also print the Washington Guard Pass and have one present in each vehicle in the parade to gain admission to the Assembly Area. This is not a parking pass and is only to be used for registered parade vehicles.
Parade Unit Leader Check-In. The Parade Unit Leader should check in between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. at the Start Point at Pendleton & N. Fayette Streets. Please confirm your unit's Division and Parade Order Number when you check in, since they are subject to change. He/she then should check in with the Parade Marshal of his/her Division. The Parade Unit Leader also should become familiar with the Parade Rules & Procedures, which also will be available at www.washingtonbirthday.com under “Parade”.
Parade Participant Check-In. All other Parade participants should form in their Assigned Division no later than 12:00 Noon. Parade Marshals will direct the line-up of the marching units within each Division and may change the Parade Order Number if necessary. The lead unit will cross the Start Point on a signal promptly at 1:00 p.m., and all other units should begin to march at the signal of their Parade Marshal.
Weather and Parade Cancellation. The weather forecast for Alexandria currently is favorable for Parade Day, but as you know that always is subject to change. Overall, even if the weather is rainy or there is light snow, the Parade will go on. If we judge that it is not safe, the Parade will be cancelled. We will be sending you an e-mail message directly in case weather or other events cause the delay or cancellation of the Parade, and will post that information at www.washingtonbirthday.com.
Feel free to address questions to [email protected] in the meantime.
We’re looking forward to seeing you on Parade Day!
Tyler Vanice and Sue Johnson
Co-Chairs
George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.washingtonbirthday.com
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