Veterans Day parade set for Saturday in downtown Council Bluffs
The annual Council Bluffs Veterans Day Parade will step off at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in downtown Council Bluffs, and organizers are inviting residents to line the streets in honor of the area’s more than 7,000 veterans. “We want to see those streets packed,” said Brad Powell, who has organized the parade since 2010. Organizers expect cool but dry weather, though Powell said conditions have ranged from sunshine to rain and cold over the years, and he encouraged spectators to dress for whatever the day brings.
The parade is presented on behalf of American Legion Post 2, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 5, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts 737 and 11355, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 798 and the Kanesville Honor Guard, and is sponsored by the Council Bluffs Veterans Day Parade Foundation. There is no cost to enter, and entries will be accepted at councilbluffsveteransdayparade.org until 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. Past entries have included school bands, funeral homes, veterans organizations, the VA office and other businesses and community groups. The parade’s record is about 103 entries, and Powell said entries have numbered about 60 in recent years, a total he would like to see grow.
All veterans are welcome to walk together in the parade as part of “The Platoon.” Powell said the friend and fellow veteran who came up with the idea of veterans walking together died earlier this year. Parade rules prohibit throwing candy or other items from entries, though walking participants may hand items to spectators. Powell said the rule is meant to keep children from running into the path of moving vehicles.
Lineup will begin at 10 a.m. at the south corner of Ninth Avenue and Main Street. Volunteers are still needed to help position entries in the lineup area, shuttle people by golf cart, carry banners and signs, and set up and take down tables. A local radio club also helps with lineup. Open volunteer spots are listed through a sign-up link on the parade’s website.
The day will include meals at American Legion Post 2, 716 S. Fourth St. A breakfast will be served before the parade, and a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs will follow it. Lunch will be free for veterans and offered for a freewill donation to everyone else. Items donated by local merchants will be raffled or auctioned. Donations of money or merchandise are still welcome and can be arranged through the parade’s website.
Powell took over the parade in 2010 from Norma Ferris, who had organized it for about 10 years on her own and with her late husband before that. “I don’t know anything about any parade,” Powell said he told her. “She goes, ‘Well, I’ll teach you.’” He promised to keep it going as long as he could. He said fewer communities hold Veterans Day parades than in the past, which makes keeping this one alive important. Powell, a Navy veteran of the Vietnam era, said his father and grandfather also served, and his son will retire from the National Guard in April. “It’s for us to be able to recognize our veterans who have served in the past, that are currently serving and will serve,” he said.
