The Annual Columbus Day Parade

The Annual Columbus Day Parade 

The Annual Columbus Day Parade features 35,000 marchers and over 100 groups, including bands, floats and contingents. Nearly one million spectators.

On October 10, 2011, Fifth Avenue will be transformed by the Columbus Day Parade, into the world’s largest celebration of Italian-American culture. The parade was led by Grand Marshal Joseph Plumeri, philanthropist, and Chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings. The Annual Columbus Day Parade features 35,000 marchers and over 100 groups, including bands, floats and contingents. Nearly one million spectators.The Columbus Day Parade has been organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation in New York since 1929.

The Columbus Day Parade is a fun filled Parade that gets bigger and better every year.The Parade Committee has spent countless hours reviewing many talented Bands and entertaining acts in an effort to make this year’s Columbus Day Parade the most exciting event yet! This year, the Parade will be marching up Fifth Avenue from 44th to 72nd Street and the grandstands are located on Fifth Avenue between 67th and 69th Streets.

This year features many talented performers like Pia Toscano from American Idol as well as the Italian Musical, “The Italian Fairy” .The Sacred Heart University Marching Band as well as Stony Brook University Marching Band will be just a few of the dozen high school bands, as well as virtuosi professional groups from the United States and Italy, marched up Fifth Avenue and filled the canyons of midtown with joyous, heart-pounding music.Traditional folk groups will perform centuries-old dances, and cutting-edge designs were brought to the parade route in displays of the vibrant culture that is Italy today.

The Annual Columbus Day Parade celebrates the spirit of exploration and courage that inspired Christopher Columbus’s 1492 expedition and the important contributions Italian-Americans have made to the United States.