The 88th Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade takes place Saturday, stepping out at 7 p.m. from Fort Myers High School, turning onto Cleveland Avenue and then north to downtown Fort Myers.
The crowd-pleasing Indianapolis Motorcycle Group is back this year. Parade co-chair John Taylor elaborated.
"They are a Police Motorcycle group. They have formations that they do, and people absolutely love their performances. And they're actually leading the parade off this year. So they'll be the first thing everybody sees, and they're excited. And I think, you know, when people see them, they're really going to be excited about it, too.z'
Fifteen commercial floats and 15 local bands will march this year, Taylor said. The grand marshal is retired Fort Myers High School football coach Sam Sirianni Jr. Another highlight, said Taylor, are the Mexican dancers, about 100 of them in indigenous attire. Honorary marshals include Ulysses Rodriguez, the mayor of Santiago, Dominican Republic, who is a friend of Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson, and world champion boxer Tiara Brown from Fort Myers.
"It's one of the biggest events in our area. And when we see the crowd and we
drive through it, it really comes to fruition that, you know, we've put on something for our community that really means something to them," Taylor said.
Drivers, take note. Several downtown roads will be closed beginning at 4 p.m. that day.
