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Beaverdale Fall Festival Parade Presented By:

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SATURDAY / SEPTEMBER 16, 2023 @ 10AM

Deadline to apply is September 8th 11 PM or when spaces fill up.

Rules & Regulations

FOR PARTICIPATION

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The Festival is not responsible for any injuries that occur to any parade participant, loss or damage to any entry by reason of weather, fire, accident, theft or any other cause. The Festival reserves the right to ask any participant to leave or remove an entry that is disruptive to the parade or in violation of Parade rules. 

THE BASICS

All entries are $100 unless included as part of a sponsorship package. No refunds.

The parade will go on rain or shine. The parade is only canceled due to severe or dangerous weather.

Each entity, whether profit or nonprofit, is required to pay a parade entry fee.

If an umbrella organization has an entry in the parade, they pay $100

If an affiliate of an organization wants to be in the parade, they must pay $100 for their own entry.

EXAMPLES:

Umbrella Organization

ABC School District

National Political Party

Holy Lord Church

Affiliate

Smith Elementary School

Senator John Doe or Candidate Jane Doe

Holy Lord Church Youth Group

TO APPLY

Complete and submit the ONLINE application and payment.

E-sign the online contract form (to be sent following successful payment). You may preview the contract here.

If you plan to have any motorized vehicle or float in the parade, you must send us a certificate of insurance listing the Beaverdale Fall Festival as additionally insured. This is a document that you get from your insurance carrier and will look like this. You should contact your insurance company for more information on this. We require that you list the Beaverdale Fall Festival, Inc., 4023 Urbandale Ave #13254 Des Moines, IA 50310 as additional insured. You may submit your Certificate of Insurance here.

For the parade, you have two options for insurance coverage, choose the one that works best for you:

  • Option 1: The policy for any vehicle in the parade must have minimum auto liability coverage limits of $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident with at least $100,000 of property damage coverage. The festival must be marked as additionally insured on your auto policy for the day of the festival.

  • Option 2: Provide a general liability policy of at least $1,000,000 with the festival marked as additionally insured for the day of the festival, and provide a simple proof of auto liability insurance (a picture of your existing vehicle insurance cards) that meets the minimum required by the law in the State of Iowa.

 

Both your application and payment must be received by September 8th in order for your entry to be placed in the lineup. Absolutely no exceptions. If you have not received an email registration confirmation by September 8th, please contact us. Email us with any changes to your entry that occur after your application is submitted.

One representative from each parade entry must attend a mandatory safety meeting in order to be allowed to set up - no exceptions. The meeting will be September 5th at 7 PM via Zoom, with a makeup meeting on September 12th at 7 PM. The meeting will take no more than 30 minutes.  If a representative from your entry is not able to attend either meeting, please contact us. Upon registration, you will get a link to the Zoom meeting. 

RESTRICTIONS

Only one motorized vehicle per entry; must be driven by an adult. No exceptions.

No animals are allowed except dogs and cats, as long as they are on leashes. You are expected to clean up after your animals.

No one is permitted to solicit or accept donations before, during or after the parade.

Any vehicles larger than a pickup truck must have wheel walkers next to every wheel. 

Absolutely no candy, water balloons, or other objects may be thrown of vehicles/floats/etc. Candy must be handed to guests. 

All groups will be expected to keep close to the group in front of them. 

Failure to follow any of these rules will result in you being asked to leave the parade route and may disqualify you from future parades. 

LOGISTICS BEFORE THE PARADE

One representative from your group will be required to attend a pre-parade meeting to discuss logistics and safety.  

Staging is in the area near Euclid and Beaver Ave.

The parade starts at 10 AM on Euclid Ave and Beaver Ave and goes south on Beaver to Allison Ave.

LOGISTICS AFTER THE PARADE

The parade officially ends at Beaver and Allison.

Vehicles connected with large groups, like bands, should wait near Allison Ave.

Vehicles in the parade usually exit the parade route by continuing south on Beaver.

ARRIVAL & CHECK-IN

>  Additional Details for arrival and check-in will be available at the pre-parade logistic and safety meeting. If you have questions in the meantime please contact us.

Parade Rules & Regulations

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What happens after I submit my application?

Entries are confirmed by email once your entry has been received. If there is a problem with your entry, you are contacted as soon as possible.

How is the parade lineup determined?

  • A lot of time and attention is devoted to lining up the parade entries. Care is taken that musical entries don't drown each other out, and entries are spaced so that no one gets bored.

  • Usually, first-time entries and entries that missed the previous year are placed toward the back of the lineup. An attempt is made to move each entry up by at least one zone every year. Sometimes there are exceptions, but the goal is to be fair to all participants.

Where is the staging area?

Staging will be on the streets and grassy lots near Euclid and Beaver Ave. 

Additional Restrictions?

  • To avoid anyone being hurt or the Fall Festival being sued, you must bring people with you to walk along the side of the street and hand out candy. There are no exceptions to this rule. Many first-time participants end up empty-handed by the time they reach Urbandale Avenue, so you need to bring a lot of candy. Check with someone who’s been in the parade before regarding how much. If you are walking, we recommend that you bring a support vehicle for your candy. (No, we are not kidding!)

  • No one else is permitted to solicit or accept donations before, during or after the parade. The Parade Committee accepts cash donations from spectators at the end of the parade.

Priceless Advice

  • Adults should plan something to keep kids busy, focused, and together. Plan on having someone lead an organized 'tour' of the other parade entries. This will keep your group together, have a chance to meet people in other entries and maybe get a few pieces of candy (since you miss this being IN the parade), and give a few out.

  • Get the music teachers involved so you can sing your school song several times during the parade, do some chants, etc. This will keep kids busy while waiting.

  • Leave about a fourth of the decorating for the staging area to be completed by the kids alone.

  • Put kids in charge of taking pictures, etc.

  • Print copies of the parade FAQs to hand out to all families. Highlight the parts relating to kids and drop-off.

  • Decide what happens with children at the end of the parade.

  • Have a sign-in sheet for each group with kids. Include the name of the child, name of a responsible adult (especially if that adult will NOT be in the parade with them), and a cell phone number, if possible, to be used if the child does NOT get picked up on time. Have each adult check their child out at the end of the parade. This way, there is also a record of who participates each year.

Can I get a free parade entry?

Complimentary parade entries are limited to marching bands and select sponsors when a parade entry is negotiated into the sponsorship package.

When is the Parade?

Saturday, September 16, 2023 @ 10 am

Parade FAQs
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