Celebrating Military Service Parade on Aug. 16

The Second Annual Downtown Tacoma Event presented by The Daffodil Festival and the City of Tacoma preparations are underway.

The Daffodil Festival partners with the City of Tacoma to pay tribute to Pierce County's sizable active duty and retired military population. Together, they will host the second annual Celebrating Military Service Parade in downtown Tacoma on the evening of Aug. 16.

“Last year's Military Appreciation Parade was a great success," said Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland. “We look forward to honoring our service members and their families again in downtown Tacoma."

The parade will spotlight notable active duty and retired military personnel, and feature marching units, community floats, bands, Reserve Officers' Training Corps and Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps units, veterans organizations, motorcycle units and veterans groups. Last year, the parade featured over 60 military units.

Parade Details and Route Information
The parade will begin at South 17th Street and Pacific Avenue by Tollefson Plaza at 6 p.m.  The route will travel north to South 10th Avenue.
After-Parade Street Event 7- 9 p.m.

Immediately following the parade, parade vehicles, community floats and military personnel will be on Pacific Avenue from South 7th to South 9th streets. Pacific Avenue will be closed to showcase specific parade entries, and parade-goers are encouraged to support their local area restaurants for related festivities.

The Emerald Queen Hotel & Casino and Heritage Bank are the headlining sponsors of the parade this year.

Event updates and application instructions can be found at either tacomamilitaryparade.com or thedaffodilfestival.org. Additional information is available through Steve James, executive director of The Daffodil Festival, at daffodilfestivalmedia@gmail.com or (253) 840-4194.