City of Venice announces holiday parade route

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The City of Venice has released an interactive map of its parade route.

The parade is returning to downtown Venice this year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27 and will be live streamed.

The parade officially begins at 6:30 p.m. at the corner of Park Boulevard and West Venice Avenue (south side). It will proceed on the north side of West Venice Avenue 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, making its way to the Venice Community Center, where the parade ends.

Additional safety measures will be in place this year, due partly to COVID-19:

• 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.

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