Organizers say this year’s Veterans Day parade through the West Grove will be bigger than last year’s event, with 16 marching bands.
Some of South Florida’s top marching bands will be lighting up Grand Avenue next week during Coconut Grove’s annual Veterans Day parade.
Sixteen high school and academy marching bands are slated to participate in Tuesday’s parade, starting at 10 a.m. on Grand Avenue at Elizabeth Street. The parade will then head west for five blocks to Armbrister Park for an after-party with food trucks.
A graveside ceremony will be held earlier in the day, starting at 9 a.m. at the Charles Avenue Cemetery, 3650 Charles Avenue, to honor veterans who have been laid to rest.
Organizers are expecting 1,400 parade participants this year – an increase over last year.
“This is going to be a huge event – so big, I don’t think we need to go bigger next year,” said Kimberly Davis, president of the Coconut Grove Optimists Club. Davis organizes the event in partnership with American Legion Post 182.
Davis said her goal this year is to draw a crowd to match the size of the parade, including people who are new to the neighborhood and may not have attended before.
“I need them to know this is a parade and it will be marching through your neighborhood,” she told the Spotlight.
Some of the high schools that will be participating this year: Carol City, Coral Gables, Homestead, Miami Northwestern, North Miami, Stranahan, Hallandale, Norland, South Dade, and Miami Central.
See photos from the 2024 Veterans Day parade here.
