Bah humbug! No candy tossing, no pedestrians on the medians, no early chair setup, no Mayor and a smaller parade at the Venice Holiday Parade this weekend.
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
The Venice Holiday Parade returns to downtown Venice this year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27.
The parade officially begins at 6:30 p.m. at the corner of Park Blvd. and W. Venice Ave (south side). It will proceed on the north side of W. Venice Ave. after crossing over Harbor Drive. From there, it will make a turn on Nokomis Avenue and go all the way down to Turin Street, where it turns right, ultimately making its way to the Venice Community Center, where the parade ends.
DUE IN PART TO COVID-19, ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES WILL BE IN PLACE THIS YEAR:
• No early setup of chairs, blankets, etc. along the parade route. These items will be removed by the City. Chairs may be set up the afternoon of the parade ONLY.
• No pre-parade performances are planned.
• No food vendors will be included.
• The City prohibits the throwing of candy and trinkets to spectators from floats and parade participants. For extended safety and health purposes, this year the distribution by parade marchers of any handouts (candy and other items) will not be permitted. We will be relying on group organizers and parade participants to enforce this rule.
• Event participant groups will be provided with advisories on safety precautions including: practicing social distancing to the extent possible, recommended wearing of masks, and the use of pre-positioned sanitation stations.
Additionally, with the complete redesign and expensive landscaping of the Venice Avenue median, spectators will not be permitted to use the median as a parade viewing site. Signage will be posted.
For parade viewers wishing to be more socially distanced along the route, we encourage you to watch the parade from Nokomis Avenue. Masks are encouraged in crowded areas where social distancing is a challenge.
The 2021 Holiday Parade will most likely be smaller this year, but traditionally exciting. For more information, please visit the parade website at https://veniceholidayparade.com/ or call 941-488-8780.
As I reported over the weekend, the Mayor will not be attending this year, missing all three during his tenure. Some had said that he is Jewish and that is why, but lets not forget it is the holiday parade, during Chanukah, and it is one of the unique responsibilities of the Mayor, to attend events like this for the city. Missing events and not being the spokesperson for the city has not gone unnoticed, with the Mayor missing an abundance of events.
Map of the parade route is below and at this point I still am on for live streaming it.