St. Louis Cardinals great and Baseball Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock will serve as honorary Grand Marshal of the dynamic Pepsi Mid-America Holiday Parade in downtown St. Louis on Thanksgiving morning.
Sixteen marching bands will entertain the crowds lining Market Street and millions of TV viewers. These bands will participate:
Rockwood Combined High Schools
Bayless High School
Lindbergh High School
Belleville East High School
Lindenwood University
Belleville West High School
Mater Dei Catholic High School
Collinsville High School
Ritenour High School
Fort Zumwalt South High School
Francis Howell Central High School
St. Charles Combined High Schools
John Ford Highland Pipe Band
Windsor High School
Ladue High School
399th U.S. Army Band-Fort Leonard Wood
More than 125 spectacular marching units will join Lou in the second largest televised holiday parade in the United States. These include 16 marching bands, including the 399th U.S. Army Band from Fort Leonard Wood; 11 giant inflated balloons; St. Louis Police Chief Joseph Mokwa; Mehlville Fire District firefighters with rescue dogs who helped during the New York City disaster; a U.S. Army Color Guard; St. Louis Rams cheerleaders; Ms. Tall St. Louis Kelly Smith; plus teams of miniature horses; spectacular floats; decorated carriages; antique cars; dance teams; trained animal acts; and many other crowd-pleasing attractions including Fredbird and, of course, Santa Claus.
At 8:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, November 22, 2001, the parade will start at Broadway and Spruce Streets, march to Market Street, then go west on Market past Union Station, ending at 20th Street. It will last about two hours.
�This year�s parade has special meaning because of our nation�s recent tragedy and growing spirit of patriotism,� said Toby James, parade chairman for Christmas in St. Louis (CISL), the not-for-profit organization that produces the parade and other holiday events. �We hope all of St. Louis will join the festivities on Thanksgiving morning.�
The parade will be broadcast live for St. Louis viewers from 9-11 a.m. on KSDK-NewsChannel 5 and to more than 20 major cities across the Midwest, reaching more than ten million households.
The Pepsi Mid-America Holiday Parade is sponsored by Pepsi-Cola Company and produced by Christmas in St. Louis, a non-profit organization that supports charitable organizations and promotes special activities each holiday season. Local charities receiving cash grants and marketing support from CISL this year include Almost Home, which provides housing for teen mothers and their babies; Family Support Network, which helps prevent child abuse; Guardian Angel Settlement House, which provides day-care services for working needy parents; and The Lou Brock Foundation, which offers scholarships to underprivileged students.
