Salute 2 America Parade
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The Salute 2 America Parade is an annual U.S. Independence Day parade held in Atlanta, Georgia each Fourth of July. The numeral in the name comes from it being sponsored by WSB-TV 2, which shows the 1½-hour parade live each year at 1PM, after a half-hour pre-show. It is the largest televised Independence Day parade in the country.
The hosts are longtime news anchor Monica Kaufman, and sportscaster Chuck Dowdle. The 2006 parade is the first in HDTV, using 720p like other ABC network stations.
The station began the parade in 1961, which has been produced by Argonne Parades since 1981. It runs south on Peachtree Street, then briefly northwest on Marietta Street, ending at Centennial Olympic Park. The latter part of the route has been used since at least 2005. An estimated 250,000 people come to watch the parade each year, with another estimated 350,000 watching at home.
Other events on the day include fireworks at Lenox Square (billed as the largest in the Southeast) on WGCL-TV 46 and WLTM 94.9 (Lite FM), and at Centennial Olympic Park on WXIA-TV 11 and WSTR FM 94.1 (Star 94). The Peachtree Road Race also occurs early in the morning.
[edit] Celebrities and performers
[edit] 2006
- Bobby Cox (grand marshal, Atlanta Braves coach)
- Kimberly McCullough, Jason Thompson (grand marshals, General Hospital actors)
- Jennifer Berry (grand marshal, Miss America 2006)
- Little Big Town (singers, U.S. national anthem)
- Diana DeGarmo (singer, local American Idol finalist)
- GEICO Gecko, Atlanta Hawks Harry the Hawk, Atlanta Falcons Freddie Falcon (mascots)
- Falun Dafa drummers, local high school bands
- Oscar the Grouch and Uncle Sam balloons
- Eiffel Tower balloon on Louvre Atlanta float, Centennial Olympic Park 10th-anniversary float
- WSB-TV personalities, including Clark Howard and several others
[edit] External links
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