• Since 1965, the Gaspee Days Committee has produced the very best community activities celebrating Rhode Island's revolutionary heritage. The Gaspee Days Parade is ALWAYS on the second Saturday of June between the hours of  10 am and 1 pm.  Parade line-up considerations, however, dictate that we close to traffic certain sections of the parade route by 9 am.  As you know, traffic jams are a nightmare at these times.  If you have guests coming to watch the parade, or for any other reason, please have them arrive well ahead of time, say by 8 am. Of course, no one may leave until the parade has fully passed.
• The Gaspee Days Parade consists of 10 to 12 Divisions:
• Division 1-State of Rhode Island
• Division 2-Pawtuxet Village
  
• Division 3-Colonial & Revolutionary War Groups
  
• Division 4-Colonial & Revolutionary War Groups
  
• Division 5-Colonial & Revolutionary War Groups
  
• Division 6-Colonial, Revolutionary, 1812, & Civil War Groups
  
• Division 7-Shriners & Associated Groups
  
• Division 8-City of Warwick
  
• Division 9-City of Cranston
  
• Division 10-City of Providence
  
• Division 11-Modern Groups
  
• Division 12-Modern Groups, including the Mummers Groups
  
• Of course, the Parade is a complex and dynamic event, so we don't know the exact order of march for all of these groups until just a few days beforehand.
  
• The Gaspee Days 5K Road Race has grown into a big event that immediately precedes the Parade, starting at 9:45.  This requires the full closure of the Parade route after  9:30 am
• Please make the effort to control your children at all times.  We fear that children may run out into the Parkway and be injured by Parade vehicles.  Ensure that your kids understand that they must stay next to you at all times before, during, and after the Parade.  Lost children are always a potential problem in any crowded area.  If you have children with you, have a plan of what to do if you become separated from your child, and discuss this with them ahead of time. Uniformed policemen are stationed periodically along the Parade route for your assistance if necessary.
• To ease boredom prior to the Parade bring coloring books, games, or some other such time filler.  Be aware that some adults carry coolers and cigarettes at head level to a child.  Young skin is very sensitive to the sun; carry along sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses. If you are supervising a child, please don't drink alcohol.  Open containers of alcoholic bevereges in public areas are illegal in both Warwick and Cranston.
• Please be considerate of our environment and take the trash left around you, with you.
• Please do not throw objects at or into the path of our Parade participants.  Poppers can injure people if thrown into the face, and show disrespect to people who have traveled great distances to march in our Parade.  Silly string is outlawed by city ordinance, and can ruin expensive uniforms on marchers, and damage paint on vehicles. Firecrackers and sparklers are both dangerous and illegal.
• Our biggest concern is the safety of our Parade audience. Please no not approach, or allow your children to approach, into the Parade Route any where near a moving vehicle, float, or Parade group. Drivers of these vehicles often cannot see people nearby their float.  Musical groups need to focus on their music and march and cannot always see people around them. Military re-enactment groups often carry dangerous equipment with them.
  
• Pets should be left at home.  Animals will get overexcited by the crowds and noise and may become a danger to others and themselves.
• Please do not allow persons on bicycles, skateboards, or rollerblades onto the Parade route.  They are dangerous for both our Parade participants and the audience along the sides of the Parade route.
• If your house is situated along the Parade route, and it will be a hot and humid Parade day, we ask that you consider running a garden hose out to the Parkway for the use of overheated people.  Limit abuse of the hose by opening the tap so that only a slow stream of water comes out.  Even a small trickle of cold water can rapidly cool down an overheated person.
• If you encounter persons suffering heat related illness, please offer the brief use of an air-conditioned car if you have one parked in your driveway.  This is one of the quickest ways to cool down a person with heat illness.  Of course, you may have to run the car with the A/C on for a few minutes before putting the person in to cool down.  This time can be used to assess the person, offer them cold water to drink, and have the hose water cool them off.  Further information on treating heat-related illness can be found at:  http://www.kidshealth.org
• Of course, it may be necessary to call 911 if there is a true medical emergency.  Inform the 911 dispatcher about the Parade and that it may be best for the rescue vehicle to approach via the side roads.
• If your house in located along the Parade line-up area on Narragansett Parkway between Warwick Avenue and Spring Green, you will of course not be able to drive your vehicle directly to or from your house between 9 am and 12 pm on the day of the Parade.  Please inform us ahead of time at 781-1772 if diesel fumes from some Parade vehicles parked outside your house would seriously affect any members of your household. For people that park along the Parade route, please understand that you will not be able to drive out of the area via Narragansett Parkway or Broad Street until well after the end of Parade has passed.
  
• The Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival has also grown over the years.  This will always be on Memorial Day Weekend, requiring the closure of Narragansett Parkway between Post Road and Canonchet Street between the hours of  9 am to 5 pm each day.  Please forewarn your visitors of the steep fines ($50) for parking illegally.  Again, help us keep a safe environment by preventing children from using bicycles, skateboard, or rollerblades in the Festival area.
• The Gaspee Days Committee sincerely appreciates your patience with the festivities throughout the years.  We will be celebrating our 45th year in 2010; and no Parade runs smoothly without the combination of a lot of planning, dedication, hard work, and luck.  So laugh with us, join in the fun, and help us relive America's 'First Blow for Freedom' ^TM
  
• For further information on any Gaspee Days Event, please call us at 781-1772, or visit our website at http://www.gaspee.com…. Better yet, consider joining the Gaspee Days Committee and become a part of our great community activities.

If your group would like to consider joining us in the upcoming Parade please submit an application or contact us for further information. Scroll down this page for Parade participation rules.  Application forms are available on-line by type of group, and both require you have the free Adobe Reader installed:

• Application form for Entertainment Group   (Fife & Drum Corps, Militia, Marching Band, etc.)

• Application form for Non-Profit Community or Civic Group  (including floats & candidates for election)
  
  
• Download 2010 Gaspee Days Parade Rules (.pdf)
  

This is a rain or shine Parade. Only in extreme weather circumstances will the Parade be cancelled.  In the event the Parade is cancelled, an announcement will be placed on the Gaspee Phone Line:  (401) 781-1772 by 6:00 AM the morning of the Parade.  Efforts will be made to personally contact each group marching in the Parade.  Announcements will also be made on local TV channels.

PARKING:

We have parking available at several lots located convenient to the Parade staging area.  These lots are located at Pilgrim High School, and the Pilgrim Senior Center, both on Pilgrim Parkway, and the John Brown Francis Elementary School, and the shopping center lot, both on Miantonomo Drive. Priority parking for cars will be at John Brown Francis School, and for buses at shopping center lot (East of Planet Fitness).  Please see the accompanying map for directions and details. 

Traffic congestion along the Parade route will be so intense just before the Parade that it becomes impossible to maneuver. Therefore, all Parade participants must park near and report to the beginning of the Parade route. 

BUSES:

We will have shuttle buses available at the Parade end to return Parade participants back to parking lots near the Line-Up area. Participants will board these shuttle buses (near Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet) which will depart when full.  Because of traffic, we cannot allow drivers to bring their own buses to Rhodes until the Parade has ended sometime after 1:00 PM.

CHECK-IN:

The Parade check-in and staging area is along Narragansett Parkway east of Warwick Avenue, Warwick, RI on the Saturday of the Parade. Your group is expected to be in place along the Parade route at 9:00 A.M. All floats and other vehicles must be in position no later than 9:00 AM. It is likely that units arriving late will not be able to be placed in the Parade.

An information table is located at the parking areas at John Brown Francis School. Those units parking at Pilgrim may get information from any Gaspee Days Committee member in a red polo shirt. 

In general, marching groups line up on the South side of Narragansett Parkway (even numbers), while floats and tow vehicles line up on the North side (odd numbers).  Support vehicles are not allowed into the Parade unless towing a float or cannon, etc.  This will be enforced.

The leader of each participating group must check in directly with the assigned Division Coordinator along the Parade line-up area.  If your group is under contract, get an acknowledgment receipt from your Division Coordinator. Please bear in mind that your previously-assigned division number may change.

We strive to give musical groups enough separation to play their music free from interference by other musical groups. We accomplish this by carefully planning each group's position in the Parade, and by using various non-musical "filler" groups or floats to provide adequate spacing.  The Parade is, however, a dynamic event that requires much last minute adjustment.

PARADE GENERAL RULES:

The Gaspee Days Committee is licensed by both the Cities of Warwick and Cranston to conduct the annual Gaspee Days Parade under its supervision. Upon discovery of any rule violations, the appropriate police department will be contacted to rectify the situation. The following Gaspee Days Parade Participant Rules apply to all persons or groups (even politicians) applying to participate or participating in the Gaspee Days Parade.  These rules are general, and are subject to revision by the Gaspee Days Committee and by the Parade Chairperson prior to the event.

1.      Current and future participation of any person or group in the Parade is a decision made solely by the Gaspee Days Committee, which reserves the right to exclude any such person or group not conforming to these guidelines and other considerations. 

2.      Only those individuals and groups that have been invited and accepted by the Gaspee Days Committee will be allowed to march in the Parade. 

3.      All applicant groups and floats will be considered for participation in the Parade; however, acceptance will be based on theme, logistics, spacing, and other needs of the Gaspee Days Committee. 

4.      All float applicants must submit the theme of their float as part of their application. 

5.      All invited incumbent officials who wish to participate in the Parade will be assigned a position in the Parade line-up, which position shall be at the sole and complete discretion of the Gaspee Days Committee.

6.      All non-incumbent, but officially declared candidates for elected office who wish to participate in the Parade MUST first submit a Parade application (for Community Groups), which application is subject to the approval of the Gaspee Days Committee at its sole discretion. Accepted candidates will be assigned a position in the Parade line-up, which position shall be at the sole and complete discretion of the Gaspee Days Committee.  

7.      No one may use a public address system, loudspeaker, or bullhorn without specific authorization from the Gaspee Days Committee as this interferes with the Parade enjoyment by our audience.

8.      No overtly commercial, sexual, political, or religious themes are allowed during the Parade.  We will remove from the Parade any float or group that violates this rule. 

9.      No signage may be displayed that is not in accordance with the patriotic theme and celebration of the Parade. Sponsors and tow vehicles may display only minimal signs on truck doors, etc., so as to not detract from the aesthetic value of the float or group. 

10.  Support vehicles other than those towing a float are not allowed to be in the Parade unless specifically authorized by the Parade Committee.

11.  No one may interfere with the progress of the Parade anywhere along the Parade route.

12.  No Parade participant may in any way solicit funds or donations from the Parade audience.

PARADE SAFETY RULES:

13.  The Safety of our Parade audience and participants are our utmost concern. Violations of Parade Safety Rules may result in immediate expulsion from the Parade. 

14.  Each Parade participating group or person must be responsible not only for their own safety, but also for the safety of the public audience around them. Please immediately bring any unsafe or troublesome conditions to the attention of a police officer or Division Coordinator.

15.  Vehicle drivers are solely responsible for the safe operation of their vehicle.

16.  No scooters, bicycles, Segways, skateboards, wagons, or shopping carts, etc. are allowed in or along the Parade route unless specifically allowed by the Gaspee Days Committee.           

17.  No one may carry or wear stiff or firm signs as these both obstruct views and can injure members of the crowded Parade audience.

18.  No objects of any kind may be handed, thrown, sprayed or otherwise distributed to spectators from any vehicle or float by any Parade participant.  No items are allowed to be given away to spectators, including but not limited to balloons, toys, candy, trinkets, literature, pamphlets, and buttons.

19.  Parade vehicles and floats may not be approached by persons along the Parade route, whether by a spectator or Parade participant, and whether or not the vehicle or float has stopped. The vehicle or float may not be used as a base of operations for groups or persons accompanying such vehicle or float.

20.  No dangerous acrobatic stunts, including but not limited to, gymnastic and cheerleading acrobatics, are allowed.

21.  No alcoholic beverages may be consumed by Parade participants until after they have finished their Parade route. All Parade participants are responsible for observing state and municipal laws and regulations pertaining to alcohol possession and consumption.

22.  Military reenactment groups must not fire in the immediate vicinity of horses in the Parade. All firearms must be aimed away from people, and fired only under the command of a uniformed officer. Musket charges are limited to 100 grains of black powder. Cannons may not be fired along the Parade route except by the special contingent stationed at Pawtuxet Bridge.

23.  Parade groups with animals of any kind must each provide people to perform immediate "pooper scooper" duties.   This is, of course, in fairness to those who march behind you as well as for the well-being of our Parade audience.  If you do not provide this very important duty, we will be unable to allow your animals to participate in the Parade.

24.  Due to crowd safety concerns, we do not allow privately-owned horses in our Parade.  Corporate or municipal horses must be insured.

25.  Participants must obey uniformed police officers and red-shirt Gaspee Coordinators at all times, including respect to spacing. There should never be more than 100 feet between groups (the distance between two telephone poles). Groups should perform as they are marching.  A group may not stop to perform unless the entire Parade has stopped ahead.

AFTERTHOUGHTS:

Members of Colonial Units are invited to stop by the Encampment of Colonial Troops in Pawtuxet Park where impromptu jam sessions and various skirmishes may occur.   

If you have not already done so, please set up a website and e-mail account for your organization so that we can contact you in the future.

Please e-mail all comments about your Parade experience, good or bad, to info@gaspee.org.

Mark your calendar for next year now:  The next Gaspee Days Parade (after the upcoming one) will take place
on Saturday, June 11, 2011.  We hope to see you then as well!  For further information please visit our web site
at gaspee.com or call (401) 781-1772  

• Click here for Map & Directions to Gaspee Days Parade Line-Up Area (for parade participants only)