The Central Avenue Dotteversity Parade will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8.
The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at 18th and Central, and ends at the festival, which follows the parade at Bethany Park at 11th and Central.
The 42nd annual parade has added Dotteversity to its name this year to reflect the area’s ethnic diversity, according to Edgar Galicia, executive director of the Central Avenue Betterment Association.
“We are producing rain or shine,” Galicia said. There is a chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday, but he added that he’s praying for good weather.
One of the highlights of the parade will be six high school marching bands performing, he said. They include Washington, Harmon, Sumner Academy, Schlagle and Wyandotte from the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, as well as Center High School from Kansas City, Missouri, which asked to participate.
In addition the Leon Brady Percussion Academy will perform, he added.
Two horse clubs also are entered in the parade, and plan to be at Bethany Park, he said.
Groups from YMCA and Forward Young Professionals will carry giant beach balls and plan to play volleyball along the parade route, he added.
The parade marshal will be Mayor David Alvey, and there will be participation from organizations, not-for-profits, schools and companies, he added.
Juntos Center, from the University of Kansas Medical Center, will do a drive against cancer, and will take blood samples from the community that will help people determine their chances for cancer, he said.
The Dotteversity Festival held after the parade at Bethany Park, 11th and Central, will include food for purchase, entertainment, and many booths with information and items for sale, he said. Many of the vendors plan to have tents at the park, he said.
As the high school bands reach the park, they plan to come together in a joint performance, he said.
At Bethany Park, Coleen Dieker, a musician and a fiddler with an Irish band, is scheduled to perform live music.
There are many sponsors for the parade and Dotteversity Festival this year, including Vibrant Health of Wyandotte County, departments in the Unified Government, Amerigroup, La Mega Spanish radio, Alliance Workforce, CHWC, KC Dental and others.
There are no plans to cancel the parade and festival because of possible rain, but if Bethany Park is saturated with water the festival may not have the horses perform on parks ground to avoid destruction of the grass, and food trucks will park on nearby paved surfaces instead of on the parks ground, he added.
Past years have seen as many as 8,000 persons attending the Central Avenue parade and festival, and this year, he hopes for as many or more, he said.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/104729686999134/.