The 94th annual May Fête Parade will take place on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with participants marching to a healthy beat along University Avenue and surrounding streets. The Parade is the oldest children's parade in Northern California.
This year’s theme is "Happy Healthy Habits" and is an extension of the City Council’s Healthy Cities, Healthy Community Initiative, one of the Council’s priority missions, adopted in October 2015.
This year’s grand marshal is not a single person, but the community organization Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE). PiE was selected based on their work with parents and the Palo Alto Unified School District, partnering together to provide support and enrichment opportunities to enable students to have the best education possible.
Besides local school bands, kids on bikes or walking their dogs, and City officials, this year’s parade entrants will also include electric cars designed and built by students at Jane Lathrop Stanford, Jordan and Terman Middle Schools.
The parade ends about noon at Heritage Park, where the May Fête Fair will be taking place. It will feature an array of fun children’s activities, picnic areas, great food and a performance stage featuring local groups. The fair is organized by the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation and the Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto.
The Museum of American Heritage (across from Heritage Park) will also be hosting their Annual Vintage Vehicle and Family Festival with activities from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Some downtown streets will be closed on Saturday in preparation for the parade and during it. Roads will re-open as the parade passes, but the 300 block of Homer (between Waverley and Bryant Streets) will be closed until about 3 p.m. for the fair.
Playing off this year’s theme, parade organizers say a healthy community starts with healthy individuals, and the City of Palo Alto offers numerous activities, events and programs to engage the community and promote positive mental and physical healthy habits. Check out the City’s Enjoy catalog at: www.cityofpaloalto.org/enjoy for more information.
