COLORADO SPRINGS — Athan Loukakis, a local business owner tells us his reaction to the news.
"I think it's a shame. For a community that has five military bases, a lot of retired military, and a lot of active military, of course, because of the bases, it's a shame not to have a parade. We owe it to them," he said.
The parade has been an important part of our community for decades. But as of now, it’s not happening.
Parade board director Greg Roes was part of the decision to cancel the parade. He says it all came down to the numbers.
"We would typically have in the neighborhood of around 100 groups, and last year 87. So unfortunately, with only 51 groups participating, it’s just not quite enough to make the whole effort worthwhile," he said.
He tells me it costs about $55,000 to put on the parade. Sponsorships typically cover that amount because parade entrants are not charged a fee.
The board says the number of sponsors has been declining since the pandemic.
"We have fewer dollars to support the parade, and unfortunately, a lot of those costs are fixed. The number of police hours we pay for doesn’t change whether we have 10 groups in the parade or 100 groups, and the same with our Porta Potties and barricades."
For more information on how to sponsor the parade or how to get involved, click here.
Watch the full story above to hear more form our community.
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