Mayor Kraham Announces Parade

Mayor Kraham Announces Details of 66^th Annual Columbus Day Parade, Italian Festival

Five Schools Set to Compete in Parade's Annual Tournament of Marching Bands

(BINGHAMTON, N.Y.)-Mayor Jared M. Kraham joined members of Binghamton's Italian-American community Wednesday to announce details of the Annual Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival in downtown Binghamton on Monday, October 13.

Mayor Kraham said: "For more than sixty years, this celebration has brought people together in downtown Binghamton to enjoy live music, Italian food and family-friendly entertainment, including the annual Tournament of Marching Bands. It's a great opportunity to honor our area's strong Italian-American heritage and the many contributions the Italian-American community has made to our city. I'm grateful to the volunteers and partners who work alongside the City to keep this long-standing tradition thriving."

Monday's festivities are scheduled to begin at 9am with the raising of the Italian flag outside Binghamton City Hall. The flag raising ceremony will include a performance by Tri-Cities Opera singer Jason Gonzalez.

The parade is set to start at 10am near the intersection of Main and Arthur streets. It will proceed east on Main Street, ending in front of the Broome County Courthouse.

This year's parade lineup will include local Italian fraternal organizations, police and fire agencies, antique vehicles and local sports organizations. The Binghamton High School Steel Drum Band will lead off the music segment of the parade.

Five high school marching bands will also participate in the parade and compete in the annual Tournament of Marching Bands. The tournament judges marching bands on music, color guard and drum major performances.

This year's Tournament of Marching Bands will feature bands from three Broome County high schools: Union-Endicott, Johnson City and Whitney Point. Two Pennsylvania bands will also compete: the Williamson Marching Warriors from Tioga, Pennsylvania and the Athens Area Schools Marching Wildcats from Athens, Pennsylvania.

Judges for the competition will be stationed on Court Street between Water Street and State Street.

The Italian Festival will take place on Water Street near Court Street from 9:30am to 2pm, with live music from Rooster and the Roadhouse Horns after the parade. Food will be for sale during the festival.

This year's parade grand marshal is Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. A second-generation Italian-American, Assemblywoman Lupardo has represented New York's Southern Tier for over 20 years and serves as President of the New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators. She has had extensive involvement with local Italian fraternal organizations, including the Sons & Daughters of Italy in America Stella D'Argento Lodge #1916 in Binghamton, which she joined in 1998.

Garufi Law P.C. is once again sponsoring the parade.