‘We couldn’t say no’: Veterans Day Parade back on thanks to help of community
The Colorado Springs Veterans Day Parade is back on after a previously announced cancellation.
The parade, now set for noon Saturday, has been revived by the same organization that hosts the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade — Colorado International Events. When news broke that the parade would be canceled due to low participation, the outcry from community members led John O’Donnell, who owns Colorado International Events, to step in. The disappointment is no surprise, with an estimated 90,000 veterans residing in the Springs.
“We just couldn’t say no,” O’Donnell said, adding that they received calls from the mayor, local businesses and other community members about taking over.
The new event is called the In Their Honor Veteran’s Day Parade. The parade has more than 100 entries, including a slew of local veteran organizations, college and high school ROTC programs, and most branches of the military. O’Donnell expects to distribute more than 7,000 American flags at the event. World War II-era planes also will fly over during the event.
The Air Force Academy Band and 4th Infantry Division Army Band at Fort Carson will lead the parade down Tejon Street, performing together. Seven bands will appear throughout the parade. The grand marshal for this year’s parade will be Lt. Gen. David Miller from the U.S. Space Command.
“We’re expecting the streets to be very, very full,” O’Donnell said.
The O’Donnells originally hosted the annual Veterans Day Parade in Colorado Springs from 1993 to 1999. Then the parade was taken over by Colorado Springs Veterans Day Inc. in 2000. Now, the ball is back in the O’Donnells’ court.
Even more good news: The bills have been covered thanks to generous private donors, O’Donnell said.
“It was the right thing to do,” O’Donnell said. “It’s been rewarding. We’ve been doing this a long time, so a lot of people know us, and I’m not one to pound my own drum, but you go home at night and you go, ‘Gee, your friends are out there, and they’re helping make this work.’ So that’s the nice thing, and we really, really appreciate that.”
