PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — Organizers of the Portsmouth River Days Festival have released the route for Saturday’s parade, one of the marquee events of the city’s Labor Day weekend celebration, and the Portsmouth Police Department has laid out parking restrictions to keep downtown streets clear along the way.
UPDATE (Sept. 4, 8:43 a.m.): This story has been updated with additional information from the Portsmouth Police Department.
The parade steps off from Spartan Stadium at 11 a.m. Saturday, according to a post from Portsmouth River Days. From there, it will travel up Boundary Street, west on Jackson Avenue, north on Offnere Street, west on Gallia Street and north on Chillicothe Street before disbanding at Tracy Park.
The police department said downtown Portsmouth will be heavily congested for several hours Saturday and warned that there will be no parking from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. along the south side of Jackson Street, both sides of Offnere Street between Jackson and Gallia streets, the south side of Gallia Street and both sides of Chillicothe Street. Parking will also be prohibited on Ninth and 10th streets between Chillicothe Street and Gay Street to accommodate bus parking, according to the department.
The parade route formally ends at Ninth Street, and police said walkers, bands and any floats carrying multiple children will be routed along Ninth Street so children can safely reach Tracy Park. Anyone with questions was asked to contact Friends of Portsmouth, the nonprofit that organizes the festival.
The parade is part of the larger River Days Festival, which Friends of Portsmouth bills as the longest continuously running festival in Ohio, with roots stretching back more than six decades. The Labor Day weekend celebration is centered on Fourth Street in downtown Portsmouth and typically includes live music, food vendors, carnival rides and games, a pageant and the Ducky Derby rubber duck race, in addition to the parade.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Portsmouth River Days and the Portsmouth Police Department.
