News

November 10, 2016

Facebook Live Feed, Grand Marshal Announced for Schenectady Holiday Parade

The Chamber of Schenectady County, an affiliated of the Capital Region Chamber, will present the annual Daily Gazette Holiday Parade on Saturday, November 19 in downtown Schenectady. The Chamber has just announced the parade’s Grand Marshal as well as a live audio and video broadcast.

The theme of the parade is “Movies,” and the Chamber is proud to welcome as Grand Marshal Niskayuna native Ben Coccio, an award-winning motion picture professional who co-wrote the movie “The Place Beyond the Pines,” which was filmed in Schenectady and released in 2012.

New this year, the parade will be broadcast live via the Chamber’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/capitalregionchamber, courtesy of Potratz Partners Advertising. The goal is twofold: Parade attendees who are not in the vicinity of the reviewing stand near Proctors will be able to hear the commentators, Mona Golub of Price Chopper and Cody Holyoke of CBS6, describe the entries in real time. Those not able to attend the parade will be able to watch it from the comfort of their homes.

In addition, the parade will be videotaped by Open Stage Media and aired on public access stations during the month of December.

This years’ event is slated to step off at 5 p.m. starting at Schenectady County Community College and traveling east on State Street in downtown Schenectady to the corner of Lafayette Street at the foot of Veterans’ Park.

It’s sure to be a magical night in downtown Schenectady with nearly 100 local organizations entering floats, dance troupes, marchers and bands. They’ll be competing for valuable prizes including The Daily Gazette Business Award, the Red Suspenders Award (for fire companies), the Price Chopper Nonprofit Award, the Great Escape Youth Award and the DoubleTree Best Adaptation of Theme Award.

The two-hour parade is held rain or shine – or snow! State Street will be closed to traffic at 3:30 p.m. from Lafayette Street to the Western Gateway Bridge. FREE public parking for spectators will be available at:

  • Broadway Garage
  • Broadway Surface lot
  • Broadway and Franklin Street
  • Amtrak lot (Erie Boulevard & Liberty Street)
  • Erie Boulevard & Liberty Street North
  • City lot located between Liberty and Franklin Street

Several other companies and organizations are sponsoring prizes, bands, and divisions in the parade, including The City of Schenectady, Price Chopper, MVP Healthcare, GE Power and Water, the 109th Airlift Wing of the NY Air National Guard, Marshall & Sterling Insurance, Adirondack Beverages, CBS 6 News, Hampton Inn Downtown Schenectady, Schenectady County Community College, Trustco Bank, First National Bank of Scotia, Stewart’s Shops, SEFCU, Schenectady County, Brown Transportation and Mohawk Ambulance.

More information can be obtained by calling The Chamber of Schenectady County at 518.372.5656 or at www.capitalregionchamber.com/parade.