The Proctors Theatre marquee on State Street in Schenectady. The theatre is this year's grand marshal of the county holiday parade, and the main grandstand will be set up near the marquee.Photo: Tyler A. McNeil, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Schenectady County will hold its 57th Holiday Parade on Saturday, Nov. 21, in downtown Schenectady, with a 5 p.m. kickoff at the corner of State Street and Washington Avenue near SUNY Schenectady. The county’s official event page describes the parade as presented by MVP Health Care in partnership with the City of Schenectady, and bills it as the Northeast’s largest nighttime holiday parade. The county has named Proctors Theatre, which is marking its 100th anniversary, as this year’s grand marshal.
The official participant guide says the procession will move east on State Street to Lafayette Street, then turn left onto Lafayette and continue to Liberty Street. A main grandstand will be set up near the Proctors marquee at 432 State Street, and a second stage will be at State and Ferry streets, the guide says. Discover Schenectady similarly lists the 5 p.m. start at State and Washington and says a second viewing area on lower State Street, near South Ferry Street, is being added this year with sponsorship from National Grid.
A pre-parade block party presented by CDTA Market 32 begins at 3 p.m., the county says, and the official watch guide puts the lighting of the city’s holiday tree at State Street and Jay Street at 4:45 p.m. The county’s participant guide, in a message dated Nov. 10, said WTEN will stream the parade beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the WTEN+ app. The same guide tells participants to expect more than 2,000 people, 125 unique entries and nearly 100 volunteers, and it invites veterans to march in a Veterans Division directly behind the grand marshal.
The county’s official page, and Discover Schenectady, both say a sensory-friendly space will be open in the GE Theatre at Proctors from 3 p.m. through the end of the parade, in partnership with Crossroads Center for Children and, new this year, Bring on the Spectrum. A separate area in the theatre will be available for veterans and their families. The official watch guide also notes free parking at the Schenectady Municipal Parking Garage on Broadway, and it warns of road closures through downtown, including a 4 p.m. closure of State Street around the staging area.
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