The annual “Festival of Bands Parade” will be held in downtown Sioux Falls on Saturday, October 3, 2009, starting at 9 a.m.

The staging area for the bands will be between 14th Street and 18th Street on Phillips Avenue, Main Avenue, and Dakota Avenue.

The parade route is Main Avenue from 14th Street to 6th Street. The destaging for the parade will be on Main Avenue from 6th Street to 3rd Street.

The staging area will start shutting down at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning with the entire parade route shut down at approximately 8:45 a.m. This parade is expected to last until about 12 noon, at which time the streets will be opened for normal traffic.

Motorists traveling in this area and not attending the event or not traveling to a downtown destination are encouraged to use an alternate route to get across town. Everyone traveling in the area is encouraged to have patience and allow a little extra time to reach their destination safely.

Thank you and have a great day!