25th Annual AmerenUE Thanksgiving Day Parade
To Be Held In Downtown St. Louis
Thursday, November 26, 2009
In addition to the festivities in the streets and special performances on the Entertainment Stage from 8:00-9:00 a.m., there will be a live TV broadcast on KMOV-TV Channel 4 from 8:00-11:00 a.m.
Honorary Grand Marshal: The 2 Millionth Eagle Scout, Anthony Thomas will serve as this year’s honorary Grand Marshal. The Boy Scouts of America are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, and way better way to honor the Scouts than by inviting the 2 Millionth Eagle Scout to St. Louis. Anthony Thomas is a junior at Academy of Holy angels in Richfield, Minnesota, and has been involved in Scouting since age 7. A member of Northern Star Council’s Troop 471 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minnesota, Anthony credits Scouting for his love of the outdoors and his commitment to service. Adopted from Korea, Anthony volunteers as a counselor to Korean adoptees at Camp Choson. Anthony also spent part of his summer in New Orleans helping with ongoing clean up work following Hurricane Katrina. He also is active in his church and recently lettered in Service at his school.
Route: Parade begins at Broadway and Washington, proceeds East on Washington for 1 block before turning South on 4th Street. The Parade will continue South on 4th Street, turn West on Market and continue past City Hall to it’s dispersal at 14th Street.
Units: Over 100 units will make up this year’s parade including 15 festive holiday floats, 11 marching bands, giant balloons, mounted units, the Shriners’ motorcycles, antique and classic cars, dancers, clowns, Fredbird, animals and much more, offering something for parade viewers of all ages and interests.
Giant Helium Balloons:
|
SPONSOR |
CHARACTER |
|
AmerenUE |
Louie the Lightening Bug |
|
US Bank |
Reindeer Balloon |
|
Schnucks |
Skating Santa |
|
Emerson |
Michael The Eagle |
|
AT&T |
Imagine The Elf |
|
Partnership for Downtown St. Louis |
Baseball Garfield |
|
Gateway Arch Riverfront |
Walden The Wizard |
|
Clear Channel Radio |
Eva Christmas Tree |
|
Switch |
Nutcracker Balloon |
|
Lou Fusz Automotive |
Nicholas The Penguin |
Bands: Eleven music units will participate in the 2009 AmerenUE Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday,
November 26, 2009.
Participating Band Units
Bayless High School Band
Belleville East High School Band
Desoto High School “Pride” Band
Fox C-6 District Honor Band
Harris Stowe Marching Hornets Drum Line and Dancers
Imagine Academy of Science and Math (City of St. Louis Public Schools)
John Ford Highland Pipe Band
Mater Dei Catholic High School Marching Knights Band
Mehlville High School Marching Panther Band
Ritenour High School Marching Band
Windsor High School Golden Brigade Band
Band Contest
Bands will compete for trophies as part of the parade. The top five bands each will receive a trophy plus an additional trophy for the Outstanding Drum Major, Outstanding Auxiliary Unit, and Outstanding Percussion Line. The Marching Band competition is sponsored by Schnucks and US Bank.
Band Contest Judges
Three judges from area college and university band departments will evaluate each marching unit on music performance, marching performance and general effect. Judges will be located on Market Street between 10th and 11th Street. Winners will be announced after the parade.
2008 Winning Bands
1ST Place Belleville East High School Band Belleville, Illinois
2nd Place Windsor High School Band Imperial, Missouri
3rd Place Desoto High School Band Desoto, Missouri
4th Place Mater Dei Catholic High School Breese, Illinois
5th Place Bayless High School St. Louis, Missouri
Outstanding Drum Major: DeSoto High School Band
Outstanding Auxiliary Unit: Belleville East High School
Outstanding Percussion Line: Belleville East High School
Christmas in St Louis 2009 Featured Charities:
Ride On St. Louis
Ride On St. Louis was founded in 1998 and was the first equine-assisted therapy program to operate in the South County area. The program is dedicated to using equine-assisted therapy to achieve emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual benefits for the developmentally and physically disabled, at-risk youth, and assisted-living adults.
Logos School
Logos School is an independent, not for profit, therapeutic, educational agency serving students in grades 7-12. Logos School is dedicated the assisting students and their families with needs that have not been met in the traditional school environment. Logos helps students who struggle with depression, attention deficit disorders, Asperger’s Syndrome, learning disabilities, behaviour disorders, poor motivation, anxiety, low self-esteem, substance abuse and other challenges.
Logos School was founded in 1970 in St. Louis Missouri and has educated and helped over 1,400 students. 95% of the students attending Logos School graduate for high school and 90% of Logos graduates go on to college.
About The Christmas in St. Louis Organization
Founded in 1985, this 501(c)3 organization was formed for two purposes
· Provide support for youth charities
· Welcome in the Holiday Season by unifying many different St Louis activities (tree lighting, decorations, the Parade) and bringing in visitors to the area.
Mission Statement: Christmas in St. Louis (CISL) and the Christmas in St. Louis Foundation (Foundation) are comprehensive volunteer community-focused, non-profit organizations with distinct, yet complementary missions.
CISL is a civic organization dedicated to adding to the community’s celebration of the holiday season by coordinating Christmas lighting and decorations and thereby increasing tourism, shopping, dining and hotel usage in the St. Louis area during the holiday season.
The Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to assisting and supporting, primarily through promotion and marketing, numerous local charities during the holiday season.
Apparel: For special “Christmas in St Louis” Apparel, blankets, hats, “stocking stuffers” and Parade wear, visit www.christmasinstlouis.org and click on the link.
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For Additional Information contact: Donna Andrews
314-992-0654
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