The Cost of Parades.

Pan Pacific Parade

Living in the bush of Alaska, we really don't have parades but most of my students have watched parades on television.  I know they've seen Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and the Rose Bowl Parade.

Hawaii is noted for loving to give parades and there were two different parades this past weekend.  One was Saturday while the other was on Sunday.

While watching the parade, I realized there is a cost involved in putting one on.  I know I've never thought about the cost involved in a parade.

The cost of a parade will vary according to what is in one.  If you look at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the cost is between 10 and 12 million dollars each year.  Some of the costs of this parade are as follows:
$190,000 for each new character balloon but the cost is only about $90,000 if the balloon is reused.
$510,000 or more to purchase the helium for each balloon.
$30,000 to $100,000 for the construction of each regular float.
$780,000 to $2.6 million for each of the fancy artistic floats
$2,000,000 for the costumes including the Santa Claus costume.
$139,000 in property taxes for the Parade studio.
$1.3 million for the employees who work with the parade directly.  This includes 26 full time and 14 part time staff.
$0 for the police force as the city provides their service for free and the parade is run by over 8000 volunteers.
I don'r know how much it costs for the drivers for all the floats, medics in case of emergency although they might be volunteers,  and other incidentals.

Of all the research I did, I could only find costs for Macy's Thanksgiving Parade but many places host at least one parade a year.  I know Fairbanks, Alaska has at least one parade in July where they shut down the roads between the Carlson Center and goes winding through downtown to the Coop.  I don't know what it costs but I suspect it would be easy enough to find out by calling the city to ask. 

For the Fairbanks parade, most groups decorate their own float which is pulled either by a professional truck driver or a member of the group who uses a personal pick-up truck.  Many groups walk with signs while others drive antique cars.  I believe most entries pay a small fee to enter the parade.  I know the cost is no where near what it costs in New York City.

This could actually make a nice project for students.  Have them estimate the cost of running a parade in your town including permits, police, floats, etc.

Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear.