SUMMER FESTIVAL It will be a Grande Weekend in Salem

An acclaimed drum and bugle corps will march in the parade.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The city's summer festival is gaining a new name and will have a new parade route through the downtown.
Audrey Null, executive director of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, said that many have begun calling next Friday and Saturday Salem's Grande Weekend.
Many different groups will be having events, mostly Saturday.
The Jubilee, the name given to the city's longtime festival, has disbanded, she said.
But "we did not want to completely do away with the parade part of the Jubilee," Null added.
Empire Statesmen
This year's Salem Grande Parade will feature the Empire Statesmen, a drum and bugle corps from Rochester, N.Y. The corps performs a variety of music and its appearance is drawing interest from surrounding towns, such as Canton.
"They are well-known around the country," Null said.
The corps is the four-time Drum Corps Associates World Champions and three-time American Legion champions.
Null isn't sure how many members of the corps will be taking part, but she expects it to be a large number.
The parade will have more than 100 units. The corps will march toward the rear of the parade.
The parade begins at 6 p.m. The Statesmen will then perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Reilly Stadium.
New route
As usual, the parade will travel south on North Lincoln Avenue from the city's high school.
Marge Zeigler, who is co-chairing the parade along with her husband, George, said merchants had asked for several years that the parade go through the downtown.
So this year, marchers will go west on East Second Street, south on North Ellsworth Avenue, and then east on State Street through the heart of the city.
The parade will go past Lincoln on its traditional route to North Union Avenue, where it turns north to return to the high school. The Statesmen will turn south on South Union Avenue, and then to Reilly Stadium on East Pershing Street for the concert. Tickets at the gate are $5 per person, with children 12 and under admitted for free.
Zeigler said a large truck was used on a test drive of the new route to make sure floats can make the turns.
For a time, the parade went west on State Street, marching into the setting sun, Zeigler said. The recent route -- going east on State Street -- eliminated that and other problems. The new route this year will have marchers facing west for only a few blocks.
wilkinson@vindy.com.