Days after the organization that puts on the Colorado Springs Veterans Day Parade said low participation would force the cancellation of this year’s event, a different nonprofit has stepped into the void.
Speaking from the steps of city hall, community leaders announced a new “In Their Honor Veterans Day Parade” will take place on Saturday, November 9, at 11 a.m.
“Not having a parade was not an option,” Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said. The new parade will be run by local event organizer Colorado International Events, typically known for its Pikes Peak or Bust and St. Patrick’s Day parades and its annual Colorado Springs Oktoberfest celebration.
Colorado International Events owner, John O’Donnell, said his company used to run Veterans Day parades in the 1990s and was happy to come back and take over this year’s operation. He said expenses for the new parade are being covered by private donations, including from the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation. City staff said $28,000 of Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax funding had been set aside for the previous parade and could likely be reallocated to O’Donnell’s firm.
“We’re not going to get a lot of sleep the next five weeks,” O’Donnell said. He asked that those who registered for the previous parade apply again online to participate in the new event. O’Donnell said there will be no entry fee to take part in the parade.
Colorado Springs Veterans Day Inc., the organizer of the canceled parade, had been running the event since 2000. The group’s board said they hoped they would be able to raise enough funding to continue their parade in 2025. When O’Donnell was asked if his organization would instead be taking over the event in the years to come, he chuckled and replied “ask me on November 10th.”
Given the quick changeup of parade plans, Mayor Mobolade asked residents to come out in full force.
“Let’s line the streets. Let’s wave our flags and let’s cheer on our heroes,” Mobolade said.
