(COLORADO SPRINGS) — FOX21 News is learning more about the reasons why the 2024 Colorado Springs Veterans Day Parade was canceled. We first brought our viewers this story on Friday, Oct. 4, after our newsroom received a message from a viewer who was sent a ‘Notice of Cancelation.’
On the event’s website, the Colorado Springs Veterans Day Parade Board of Directors posted a news release explaining more about why this year’s parade was canceled.
According to the release, the event’s deadline for participants to sign up was Tuesday, Oct. 1, and according to the Board of Directors, by that date, they “had not received enough groups signed up to make the parade viable in 2024.”
The release went on to explain that since Covid, the event has seen fewer participating groups, spectators, and sponsors.
“Since our first parade in 2000, we have not charged participants an entry fee, unlike most other community parades as we did not want our Veterans groups and participants to shoulder the expenses of paying for a parade meant to honor them and their service,” explained the Board of Directors.
According to the news release, as expenses continue to rise for various parade-related costs including; insurance, police support, waste removal, and barriers, just to name a few, the Board of Directors continues to seek additional sponsors to help.
“The parade board regrets having to make this decision, as we have been planning the 2024 parade since December of 2023 and much effort has been expended with the coordination, logistics, planning, and fundraising.”
The release went on to state that the event is still planned for 2025 and once more details are confirmed, people can expect to see that information posted to the event’s website.
“We thank all of our sponsors, participants, the military, and the city in our previous efforts to run a great parade and we look forward to future support in recognizing our community’s veterans in 2025 and beyond,” the Board of Directors wrote.
