Italian Activities for Parades

Wave the flag of Italy and flags for each Italian region during your parade.

A parade full of floats, flags and activities that spotlight the traditions of Italy and the accomplishments of Italians promotes respect for Italian values and culture. Skip the stereotypes of gangsters and reality television celebrities; focus on the music, history and beauty of Italy to create engaging, positive and memorable activities for Italian parades.

Flags of Our Fathers

Hand out paper Italian and American flags for the audience to wave as the parade progresses. If you have a large Italian contingent in your community, propose that members from the same region of Italy band together to carry the region's flag or crest during the parade. The crests for each of the twenty regions of Italy can be found at the individual region's websites. Many companies produce flags and crests, but you can also enlarge images of the crest and print your own paper flags and banners.

A Day at the Opera

Music is often played down parade routes to get the audience in a festive spirit. Switch out the usual CDs of pop hits and dance tunes for music by Italian artists. A parade gets into the swing of things with songs by "The Chairman of the Board" himself, the legendary Italian-American singer Frank Sinatra. If a local dance troupe expresses interest in performing, ask them to choreograph a number to the haunting, dream-like theme from "The Godfather," or an upbeat routine to the theme from "Rocky;" while the latter was not composed by an Italian, it did star Italian-American actor Sylvester Stallone. Rousing choruses from operas by Italian composers Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini provide soaring accompaniment to a parade's finale.

Party Time

Italy hosts dozens of traditional festivals throughout the year, many of which are marked with costumes, traditional activities and parades. Choose a traditional Italian festival that happens close to your parade and incorporate some of the traditional activities. In April, the festival honoring St. Mark is celebrated in Venice with men giving roses to wives and girlfriends; your April Italian parade could feature a group of young men passing out silk red roses to women along the parade route. The month of May sees the Festival of the Cricket in Florence, where people set crickets free to bring them luck for the year. Plastic crickets can be purchased from party supply and craft stores; have children hand them out along the parade route for a little bit of luck.

Queen for a Day

Held every October in San Francisco, California, the Italian Heritage Parade celebrates the contributions of Italian-Americans including Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who "discovered" America on his voyage in 1492. The parade features both floats for Columbus and for Queen Isabella, the Spanish queen who funded his voyage. Hold a contest among local youth to select the Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella for your parade. Candidates can win by selling the most raffle tickets for a prize, or you can organize a full-scale pageant with interviews, talent competitions and personal statements. Decorate a float with a throne for the queen, a ship's wheel for the legendary explorer, and rent costumes from a local theater company.

References

• World Guide: Florence Events and Florence Festivals 2011-2012
• Meeting Europe: Venice Traditional Festivals
• Luminarium Encyclopedia Project: Queen Isabella of Castille and Leon
• The National Italian American Founation: Italian American Contributions
• Costa Sur: Italian Festivals
• Italian Heritage Parade: History