Parade committee, public safety officials shore up plans

by Town Reminder

Parade committee, public safety officials shore up plans

By Dennis P. Hohenberger
Turley Correspondent

HOLYOKE – Department of Public Works crews removed tons of soot covered snow along the snaking parade route and the 6.2 mile Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race course this week.
Along Northampton Street, down hilly Beech Street and finally to the reviewing stand area in front of City Hall on High Street, mounds of snow disappeared, trucked away and deposited in slushy heaps.
Above freezing temperatures for the remainder of the week should accelerate the melting process. The Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade, the city’s rite of spring, takes place on Sunday, March 22.
The 40th annual road race will feature the region’s top runners, who will sprint the 10K route. Decorated American Runner Bill Rodgers will grace the start line near Veterans Park.
A multiple winner of the race, which once included the knee pounding hills at Holyoke Community College, Rodgers gained world notoriety in the Boston Marathon and Olympics.
Last week, the Holyoke Parade Committee and local and state public safety officials finalized plans for the parade and road race. The parade can attract up to a half-million viewers.
The road race continues to grow in popularity, attracting thousands of runners and tens of thousands of boisterous fans. On race day, the downtown is transformed into a block party, where shorts and running shoes are the attire of choice.
Parade Committee President Jacki Reardon welcomed public safety officials to last week’s planning meeting held at the Holyoke Lodge of Elks.
Parade Committee Members Kathy Krisak and Jim Wildman led the safety review. Wildman said the road race course will stay the same. Earlier in the day, committee members met with officials from American Medical Response (AMR), Holyoke Fire Department, and the Holyoke Police.
The discussions centered on the command center and medical treatment tents. An auxiliary tent will be set up on Lyman and Chestnut streets. HFD, AMR, and Holyoke Medical Center will provide medical response personnel, which includes a contingent of doctors and nurses.
“We’re looking at having a heavily staffed medical tent this year,” said Wildman.
The kids race will start at 10:45 a.m., on Hampden Street, which starts at Walnut Street and ending at the official finish line. Ceremonies featuring the John F. Kennedy National Award Recipient and Rodgers are scheduled for 11:45 a.m., followed by the Mummers Parade at noon.
The Holyoke Auxiliary Police Honor Guard will lead the Mummers and the Grand Colleen and Court down Maple Street. The string band will perform near Maple and Hampden Streets.
The planners expanded the Mummers performance space.
The race gun goes off at 1 p.m., followed by a short fun walk. Wildman expects the final runner will cross the finish line around three o’clock. The Massachusetts State Police will provide motorcycle escorts for the lead male and female racers.
Wildman said Rodgers won the first three Holyoke St. Patrick’s races. ”
For us on the road race committee, this is a huge event. This is a guy who won Boston (Marathon) three times, won New York four times and [was] involved in the 1976 Olympics,” he said.
Rodgers will be accompanied by two Holyoke Police officers during the race. He plans on marching in the parade.
Krisak said the line of marchers was completed last Wednesday evening.
“We’re on schedule. There’s been a lot of deletions this year for vehicles. We cut back on a lot of the vehicles for the parade,” she said
Krisak hopes the parade will finish in about three-and-a-half hours, including the popular Shriners.
A past award recipient, Krisak will assist in the staging area at KMart Plaza early in the morning. She will resume her parking lot duties once she completes the route herself.
Wildman and Kara Shanahan, a longtime committee member, will supervise the comings and goings of parade participants, which includes 29 floats, armies of bands, local groups, regional parade contingents, service members and a long line of dignitaries.
She asked safety officials to close the streets feeding into the parade route at 11 a.m. on parade day. Last year, Krisak said traffic blocked marchers and other groups from getting placed on time.
“The band barely made it to TV by noon,” she said. The parade is broadcast live on PBS 57 in front of the Barry Farrell Funeral Home on Northampton Street.
Before the parade, the committee hosts the annual Ambassador Award Breakfast at the Yankee Pedlar on Beech and Northampton streets. Guests are bussed over the staging area once the breakfast ends.
Holyoke Police Chief James said blocking the streets should not be a problem. However, he said accommodations must be made for marchers who show up late.
“I want everyone stepping off on time and stepping off quickly,” quipped Neiswanger.
Planners will set up specials staging areas in case of cold temperatures. “We are going to be able to keep the bands a little bit warmer, but they will have to start getting off their buses by eleven so that we can have everything down there,” said Krisak.
The southbound side of Route 5 is the main gathering area for the first two parade divisions. The parking lot acts a a feeder for the parade. Rather than all the divisions arriving at once, bands, marchers, and committees enter the parking lot at a specified time.
Several state police cruisers will escort guests and dignitaries from the Ambassador Award Breakfast to KMart.
During the parade and road race, the state police will block off exit and entrance ramps on I-91. The ramps will close at 11 a.m. on parade day. In addition, the state police Air Wing will patrol the skies over Holyoke on both days.
The Air Wing can provide live video and other key information to police and fire crews on the ground. The Holyoke Auxiliary Police will be bolstered by local and regional police departments.
The auxiliary police assist every year at the Boston Marathon’s start line in Hopkinton. Last year, the marathon installed and tested security cameras during the Holyoke parade.