MAHANOY CITY - The borough will be a busy and exciting place Saturday with the 59th annual Schuylkill County Volunteer Firefighters Convention parade, held in conjunction with Mahanoy City's sesquicentennial celebration.
The convention parade, which is sponsored by Citizens Fire Company No. 2 and Mahanoy City EMS, will begin at 1:30 p.m. and run the length of the borough both east and west, mainly along Centre and Mahanoy streets. The borough will be shut down to all vehicular traffic after 1 p.m. Saturday, so everyone is asked to plan accordingly.
In order to accommodate the more than 300 entries in the parade in setting up, along with keeping streets clear of parked vehicles during the parade, the following restrictions for Saturday were announced by the Mahanoy City Police Department.
- No parking on both sides after 7 a.m. in the following areas: East Centre Street from Main Street to the east borough line; the 200 block of West Centre Street; Main Street from Vine to Mahanoy streets; Mahanoy Street from Main Street to the east borough line; the length of 14th Street; Linden Street from Railroad to Market streets; and West Market Street from Linden to Catawissa streets.
- No parking both sides after 10 a.m. in the following areas: West Centre Street in the areas not covered above, and West Mahanoy Street from Main Street to the Mahanoy Area complex.
Police Chief Mark Wiekrykas said all parking times will be strictly enforced.
"We did the parking restrictions half and half. The areas where the parade is going to line up is scheduled for 7 a.m. because we have trucks scheduled for 8 a.m.," Wiekrykas said. "The areas where there's no lineup is posted for 10 a.m. The area around the Citizens Fire Company will also be restricted for parking so they can have room to get everything set that they need. So basically the 'east horseshoe,' as I'm calling it, is the 7 a.m. restriction. The west side is 10 a.m."
Wiekrykas explained how the parade will line up and start.
"The parade is starting from Main and Mahanoy, so the first and second divisions are going to line up on either side of Main Street to Centre Street," Wiekrykas said, adding the parade will have at least seven divisions.
"We're trying to maximize the space so the parade doesn't wind up intersecting with itself at the end," he added.
The schedule is also designed to stagger the times that vehicles must be moved to better accommodate residents and events planned for the day while still getting everything in place.
The parade will begin at Main and Mahanoy streets, go west on Mahanoy Street and around the Mahanoy Area Education Complex and then move east on Centre Street, traveling the entire length, continue moving on East Vulcan Road (Route 54), turning right onto East End Road and continuing west and getting on East Mahanoy Street at 14th Street, and moving west until the parade reaches Main Street.
After completing the parade, all units will continue west on Mahanoy Street. Marching units and vehicle passengers will go north on Catawissa Street to the Citizens Fire Company, where festivities will be held.
Vehicles will continue around the school complex and then east on Centre Street, where they will be parked. Floats will be directed where to park in two parking lots.