A parade is an organized procession of people along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by decorated vehicles called "floats" or sometimes large lighter-than-air balloons with complex shapes. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind. Protest demonstrations also sometimes take the form of a parade, but are usually referred to as a march in these cases instead.

The parade "float" was originally named this because the first floats were decorated barges that were towed along canals with ropes held by parade marchers on the shore. Today, parade floats are traditionally pulled by motor vehicles or powered themselves and may be decorated with flower blossoms.

Famous parades and parade types: Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, Rose Day parade, ticker-tape parade, gay pride parade.


Parade is a ballet by Erik Satie, first performed in 1917 and notable for including parts for a typewriter, foghorn and rattle as a musical instruments. See Parade (ballet).


PARADE is a magazine founded in 1941 that is currently circulated weekly in over 335 Sunday newspapers in the United States.