New Route, And On A Saturday:

Barnum Festival’s Great Street Parade

BRIDGEPORT — The Barnum Festival has changed the day of the Great Street Parade to a Saturday – June 26 – and has altered the route to include more neighborhoods and highlight the downtown Bridgeport area.

“Changing the day and route of the Great Street Parade is consistent with the theme of this year’s Barnum Festival – ‘We’re All in This Together,’” said Festival Ringmaster Peter Hurst. “Giving more families the chance to join in the fun and excitement of the Barnum Festival is one of my major goals this year. I also wanted to make sure we do everything we can to boost Bridgeport.”

The 2.5-mile route will add an additional seven tenths of a mile and include several new neighborhoods in the South End and the downtown area.

The parade will begin at the Capitol and Park Avenue, proceed south on Park then turn left onto State Street. The parade then heads east past McLevy Green (home of the former town hall where P.T. Barnum served as mayor), turns south onto Main Street (passing The Barnum Museum), and will finish outside of the Ballpark at Harbor Yard.

 The parade, the second largest parade in New England, drew more than 100,000 spectators last year, according to Bridgeport police. Mr Hurst hopes the change in the day and route will dramatically increase attendance.

Mr Hurst, the president and founder of Community’s Bank in Bridgeport, also believes the change can stimulate economic development in downtown the area, which is beginning a renaissance with the recent opening of several new restaurants and businesses.

“The revitalization of the downtown area is critical to Bridgeport’s economy,” said Mr Hurst. “A Saturday parade and route that ends downtown will show off new restaurants and other businesses to our neighboring towns and beyond.”

 The parade is expected to match last year’s in size, featuring more than 200 floats, bands, cars and inflated balloons.

Festival Executive Director Len Berger also thought changing the day and route made sense.

“The changes are intended to make it easier for more people to come out to the parade,” says Mr Berger said. “We are highlighting the downtown area and including historic sites with strong connections to Barnum.”