Indianapolis Veterans Day Parade returns for first time since 2018
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Veterans Day Council of Indianapolis is hosting the first in-person Veterans Day Parade since 2018.
The parade will have nearly 60 groups, including six marching bands, honoring veterans.
Dennis Wimer, president of the council, said Thursday, “It is critical that we as a nation recognize our veterans and remember the sacrifice they made in every day of their service in the military, and it’s important not just for veterans to come out to this, but for the community to come out to this.”
The Veterans Day parade will start at noon Friday at Michigan and Pennsylvania streets. The route will go south on Pennsylvania Avenue, west on New York Street, and then north on Meridian Street. The parade will end at Meridian and St. Clair streets.
The celebration will begin with the Veterans Day Breakfast from 8 -10 a.m. Friday at the Indiana War Memorial. Tickets for the breakfast can be purchased on their website.
After the breakfast, a musical prelude will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, followed by a public Veterans Day Service beginning at 11 a.m. Friday on the north steps of the Indiana War Memorial.
The parade was canceled in 2019 due to snow, in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 due to storms.
“We haven’t done this in a while and so there is both excitement and nervousness,” Wimer said. “We’ve got some great bands, military organizations, and local community organizations, and we’re excited to see them march down Pennsylvania and back up Meridian Street.”
Leaders of Downtown Indy Inc., a nonprofit that promotes the growth and well-being of the center of Indianapolis, say events such as the Veterans Day Parade keep downtown vibrant.
Max Wing, the public relations and communications manager for Downtown Indy Inc., said, “It’s important more than ever. You think about what it does for the community bringing people downtown to this space whether you’re a resident or you live in the suburbs and you want to come downtown and experience those activations. To have it after a prolonged period of time, it’s monumental in being an economic driver for downtown.”
This story was updated to show it’s the first Veterans Day Parade in downtown Indianapolis since 2018.
