Parades bring communities together in a spectacle of color, music, and excitement. However, planning and hosting a parade requires careful coordination and preparation to ensure a smooth and successful event. From permits and logistics to safety measures and community engagement, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (California JPIA) recommends that member agencies take a proactive approach to ensure a seamless parade experience for all participants and spectators alike.
Risk exposures associated with parades are frequently linked to interactions between individuals and vehicles. Common hazards include participants falling from floats or being struck by vehicles and spectators being injured by floats or vehicles along the parade route (tossed candy and toys often exacerbate this issue). Flammable items used on floats and by parade performers may increase the risk of fire. Inadequate crowd management is also a concern; large gatherings of people raise the odds of dangerous occurrences.
“When planning a parade, the last thing a public agency wants to think about is something going wrong,” said Senior Risk Manager Maria Galvan. “However, risk factors including numerous children, moving vehicles, crowds of spectators, distracted pedestrians, and float riders can lead to the possibility of adverse outcomes that may affect an agency’s loss history and reputational risk.”
Including risk management tools in parade planning and execution and collaboration between event planners, community organizations, and risk managers can help agencies implement plans to reduce exposures and prevent losses. Coordination with public safety departments, including police, fire, and emergency medical services, is also key to a safe parade. For example, “If You See Something, Say Something” campaigns can stress the importance of participants and spectators reporting suspicious activity to security or public safety.
The California JPIA recommends that its member agencies require organizations and individual parade participants to execute a waiver and release of liability. For minor participants, a parent or legal guardian must execute the waiver. Agencies can use wristbands to track which individuals have provided an executed waiver.
“While having every participant sign a waiver may sound like an administrative burden,” said Galvan, “it is possible and an important risk management tool that can protect your agency from potential liability.”
Agencies should also consider risk transfer as a risk management tool. Parade events often involve multiple parties, such as vendors, bands, and concessionaires, who should obtain proper licenses and permits and comply with local ordinances and regulations. To minimize potential liability resulting from other parties’ activities at parades, permit applications, and/or formal agreements with insurance requirements and an indemnification clause are imperative. Evidence of insurance should include an endorsement to the general liability insurance policy naming an agency as an additional insured. The required insurance limits should be based on the exposures presented by the activity or event.
“For example,” said Galvan, “a pyrotechnic company should provide higher limits of general liability insurance than a small band, since the risks associated with fireworks are far greater. It is important to know that only including an indemnification clause (with no insurance requirement) in permits and agreements does not ensure appropriate risk transfer. Without insurance, a vendor may not have the financial resources to support the indemnification of your agency in the event of a loss or claim.”
The City of Monrovia hosts two parades annually and advises that planning and preparation are key.
“Planning is key to a successful parade,” said Community Services Director Tina Cherry. “With so many moving parts and different groups and organizations, thinking through every detail is critical, as is ensuring that those working the event are informed. The more you empower others to solve issues in the moment, the smoother things will go.”
But Cherry added that certain circumstances are difficult to anticipate. For example, one year, a car club entered its parade with inappropriate images painted on the vehicles.
“Making sure someone has eyes on all entries is critical,” she urged. “I would never have thought someone would bring such vehicles into a family-friendly holiday parade…but it happened. While you cannot plan for everything, you can learn from every experience.”
Monrovia’s planning typically begins with a debrief of the prior year’s event. Key stakeholders, including police, fire, public works, recreation, volunteers, and the event committee, discuss what worked, what did not work, and what could be improved. The city also hosts a meeting during which the staff who will be working on the event review the details.
“While they all do not need to be experts on everything, we find that general knowledge of what, who, when, and where is very helpful,” said Cherry. “We identify key players to lead various components, which creates buy-in and diffuses questions.”
Another critical planning element leveraged by Monrovia is mind-mapping. Staff think about how the experience will be for various stakeholders, ranging from dignitaries and spectators to parade participants and public safety, and envision the event from the different perspectives so they can anticipate and adapt accordingly.
The Monrovia Days Parade, which celebrates the city’s birthday on a Saturday morning in May, typically includes 65 entries. The parade’s purpose is to highlight the community’s youth, including “Scholars and Champions” within the school district. It also provides an opportunity to showcase programs and activities.
Monrovia’s Holiday Parade is held in the evening on the first Thursday in December. It is well attended, with about 80 entries and several thousand spectators. Cherry said that it is often looked at as the “real” kick-off to the holidays and that everyone is in the holiday spirit.
Both parades share a staging area and route. In addition to accommodating a live audience, the events are aired on KGEM-TV, Monrovia’s public access channel, to extend access for residents unable to attend in person. Each parade includes private and rented vehicles, horse-drawn carriages, bands, show horses, and, said Cherry, “a lot of people.”
“Parades are a terrific community gathering,” she said. “They bring people together, highlight our local non-profits, promote local businesses, create community pride, build character in the youth, and, most importantly, help to create a community that offers a premier quality of life.”
To ensure that risk management best practices are in place for the parades, Monrovia has leveraged the Authority’s educational resources, including in-person programming, as well as guidance from Senior Risk Manager Maria Galvan, to whom the city sends contracts, waivers, and other documents to ensure the reduction of risk whenever possible. Galvan has also hosted training sessions in Monrovia, providing updates on best practices as well as information about how to reduce the agency’s risk.
“We really appreciate Maria and all of her help and support,” said Cherry. “We rest assured knowing that the Authority has our back and will evaluate the risk for our organization while also helping us do the things we like to do.”
For other California JPIA member agencies planning parades, Cherry offered this advice:
- “Plan, prepare, and build a strong team. You cannot do it all alone. Having dedicated and resourceful teammates will make everything easier.”
- “Manage your expectations. Things will go wrong: Expect it and learn and grow from it.”
- “Have a plan for cancellation. Things happen. For example, know if your event will happen in rain or shine or if you will reschedule due to inclement weather.”
The International City/County Management Association, the National Association of Counties, and the National League of Cities partnered to develop “Top 12 Things to Include in Parade Safety Plans: A Guide for Cities, Counties, and Local Governments” to help municipalities ensure public safety at parades, festivals, and special activities that take place in their communities. The document highlights some of the critical elements to include in local ordinances or permitting regulations to guide the preparation and execution of these events. The 12 items include regulations and requirements, key contacts, safety and emergency response plans, route, vehicles, drivers, participants, animals, assembly and disassembly, viewing stands and vendors, insurance, and debris removal.
The California JPIA has developed a set of Parade Rules and Guidelines, including entry application and waiver templates. The recommendations detail requirements for registration and line-up procedures, participant actions and behaviors, vehicles and drivers, animal condition and care, and disbandment traffic patterns.
“The guidelines do not cover every potential parade exposure,” cautioned Galvan. “Staff planning a parade should consider unique hazards and local ordinances as well as guidance from local public safety departments including law enforcement and fire.”
Providing innovative risk management solutions for its public agency partners for more than 45 years, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (California JPIA) is one of the largest municipal self-insurance pools in the state, with more than 125 member cities and other governmental agencies. Members actively participate in shaping the organization to provide important coverage for their operations. The California JPIA provides innovative risk management solutions through a comprehensive portfolio of programs and services, including liability, workers’ compensation, pollution, property, and earthquake coverage, as well as extensive training and loss control services. For more information, please visit the California JPIA’s website at cjpia.org.