We will have a banner and several signs that say  “Should the 1 percent run America?”  We will have 2 banners that say ” Stop the Enbridge pipeline.” We will have signs carrying other social justice, anti-war, and environmental justice messages.  You can bring a sign or banner of your own as long as it carries a congruent message.  Signs in Spanish are welcome and encouraged.

We will be delighted to have you walk with us.
Here is the line-up information for those who said they would walk in Elgin’s July 4th parade, or who said they might do so.

Here is the Flyer we will be handing out: July-4th-parade-flyer-2015

STARTING TIMES
Gates Open for Parade Participants ~ Douglas, Brook, and Grove Gates open 7 am
Parade Start ~ Parade steps off at 9am from the intersection of Douglas and Slade.
START: Intersection Douglas and Slade
FINISH: Intersection Douglas and Highland

PARADE START/END TIMES & LOCATIONS
The parade steps off Saturday, July 4 at 9AM at Slade and Douglas Avenue. It takes approximately 30-40
minutes to get to the finish line at Highland and Douglas Avenue – depending on parade pace.
Please see the attached map for details, including parade, shuttle bus, staging and disbandment routes.

The Parade takes place rain or shine and would only be postponed or cancelled if the weather was
determined to be “dangerous.” In this case, an announcement will be posted that morning at
DowntownElgin.com, on DNA’s Facebook (Facebook.com/DowntownElgin), Twitter (@downtownelgin)
and on our voicemail at (847) 488-1456.

We are assigned to staging block GROVE-C (Grove between Lovell & Jefferson).

1. Check-in at the ENTRY GATE #1 at Ann & N. Grove, just North of the Gail Borden Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. Please note that no vehicles other than those listed on the application will be allowed into the staging area. The gate volunteers will be checking to be sure that the vehicle displaying the pass is the vehicle that is registered.
   Participants arriving in vehicles other than those registered to be in the parade may be dropped off at the shuttle pick-up site across the street from the library or anywhere outside the staging area (see attached staging map).

2. Proceed north on N. Grove Ave. to your designated block and check-in with the block captain in the white parade t-shirt, who will assign you your number in the parade line-up. All vehicles will be staged facing north along the east side of the street.

3. Then block captain will release your block when it is time to join the parade route. Blocks will be released in this order: (1) Douglas Pre-Line-up, (2) Brook A-E, and (3) Grove A-E. Vehicles staged in the Cook lot will be released at points during the line-up where time and space allows.

4. Please remember, you may not throw anything (like candy, promotional items or marketing materials) at the crowd from your vehicles along the route. Children run into the street to grab these items and that creates a very dangerous situation. If you want to pass something out, please hand your items to people while you walk the route. Just be aware of the pace of your parade unit when handing things to the crowd. Route ambassadors will ask you to pick up the pace if your unit falls behind.

5. Please note: If your group consists only of walkers and no vehicles, your participants may be dropped off at the shuttle pick-up site across from the library OR anywhere outside the staging area, east of
   Douglas Avenue. You do not need to check-in at the entry gate, but you do need to check-in with your block captain.

6. At the end of the parade route at Highland and Douglas Avenue, police officers will direct parade units to disband westbound onto Highland Avenue across the bridge to Route 31. (You will not be allowed to proceed south on Douglas or on N. Grove Avenue.) You can proceed North to I-90 by turning right at Route 31 or South by turning left at Route 31. If your group needs to go East, you can turn left at Route 31 and then left again at E. Chicago Street. If your unit requires time to disembark from your float or vehicle, you can turn into the roundabout by the U.S. Post Office on N. Grove Avenue and disembark before heading back westbound onto Highland Avenue.

Remember that Kimball St. will be closed at Dundee until the parade ends.

ROAD CLOSURES
Road closure preparations begin at 6am, with roads officially being closed at 8am.
CARS PARKED ON THESE STREETS ON JULY 4 AFTER 6 AM WILL BE TOWED:

• N. Grove Ave. from Kimball St. to River Bluff Rd.
• Brook St. from Kimball St. to River Bluff Rd.
• River Bluff Rd. from Spring St. to N. Grove Ave.
• Douglas Ave. from River Bluff Rd. to Chicago St.

PARKING
All parking in Downtown Elgin is free, however, with street closures taking place for the parade,
we advise that you arrive early.
Besides the ample amount of street parking (even with the closed streets), Downtown Elgin
offers plenty of free parking in lots and decks throughout the downtown area.

• Centre parking Garage at the corner of Symphony Way and Douglas Ave
• Spring street Garage at the corner of Spring St. & Highland Ave
• Fulton Street Garage at the corner of Fulton St. & Spring St.
• Library Lot will be open (parking will be restricted)

SHUTTLE BUSES
Shuttle buses will be located at the parking lot located at 200 S. Grove and are available to
transport parade participants to their assigned gates for staging.