Cindy Gaylord, Chairperson of the Historical Commission.
WESTFIELD- The city’s Historical Commission gave an update about the parade and schedule for the Westfield 350th birthday weekend Monday evening in a regularly scheduled meeting.
Cindy Gaylord, Chairperson of the commission, said that they had been given permission to feature some new animals, specifically oxen, in the parade on Sunday, May 19th. Gaylord also gave more detail about what kind of the float will be presented by the Historical Commission.
“It has begun. The Historical Commission float has started,” said Gaylord, “Right now it’s still in the framing stage. But we will have one of the original canal boats from the Westfield Canal.”
Gaylord said that they would try to order a banner to describe what the boat is for people who do not know. Westfield once had a canal that was part of a network of transportation between Northampton, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut. Gaylord said that some of the logistics of the parade are still being ironed out. The commission discussed how to handle any children that appear in the parade, and where they should be before it starts and where they should go after it ends.
Gaylord announced that, so far, there will be 42 floats and 80 organizations in the parade. The parade will begin where Kensington Ave and Western Ave. intersect near Stanley Park. Parade participant staging will take place in both Stanley Park and in front of the Horace Mann Center on Western Avenue.
The floats and people will go east down Western Avenue in the direction of the downtown area. They will then reach the area of the Westfield Women’s Club, where they will turn left to go north in the westbound lane of Elm St. near Park Square. The parade will end there followed by a celebration on the town green afterwards. The commission estimated that the parade will last about three hours.
One point of uncertainty was the state of Western Avenue for the parade. At the moment, Western Avenue is riddled with potholes and cracks that formed throughout this past winter, making it treacherous for cars to drive through it. Gaylord said that city officials informed Harry Rock, President of the Friends of the Westfield 350th, that the holes would be filled by the time of the parade. The Department of Public Works has been making use of a machine that specializes in filling potholes.
Gaylord announced that the schedule for the entire weekend of May 19th has been released and would be available online. She also announced that volunteers are still being sought for events throughout the weekend, including the parade and the events on Park Square following ceremony.
“We want to get the word out, because people still don’t know it,” said Gaylord, “I don’t know how people cannot know about it, but some do not.”
