Milwaukee Holiday Parade Cancelled

After 92 years, the Milwaukee Holiday Parade is canceled for the first time, and maybe forever... https://t.co/iJoF7rWL3Y

— Bobby Tanzilo (@BobbyOnMKEcom) August 29, 2018

The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes again: The surprise cancellation of Milwaukee's holiday parade was due in part to construction on the streetcar system. https://t.co/HLK97LhqJm

— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) August 29, 2018

From BizTimes Milwaukee:

The organizers of the Milwaukee Holiday Parade are retiring from putting on the annual event, prompted by a lack of funding and logistical challenges associated with downtown construction.

Barring another organizer or sponsor deciding to continue the annual parade, last year’s parade will have been the last, organizers said in an announcement today.

Four members of the DeGrace family, which has put on the event for the last 66 years of the parade’s 92-year history, announced their decision to retire on Wednesday morning.

...Aside from a lack of funding, [parade producer Suzanne] DeGrace Spaeth said, several factors culminated in a “perfect storm” this year, including vendor changes, downtown construction and route logistics.

“There is a lot of great construction going on in Milwaukee and the landscape of Milwaukee is changing but it does present kind of an issue when you’re trying to put on a parade and you stage and de-stage in various locations,” DeGrace Spaeth said.

Boston Store, a major sponsor of the parade, closed following the bankruptcy of its parent company The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.

In addition to that funding evaporating, the streetcar played a role in killing the parade that has been a Milwaukee Christmas tradition since 1927.

Staging the parade is a massive undertaking, and sadly no new sponsors or organizers have come forward.

The DeGrace family organized the parade for 66 years, keeping alive a community event that brought joy to generations. That's quite a legacy.