Parade to kick off 10-day festival

Jasper Avenue will be lined with colourful floats Friday morning with more than 100 entries in the annual K-Days parade and the city is asking parade-goers to give themselves extra time to get to the festivities.

The parade starts 10 a.m. at Jasper Avenue and 108 Street before travelling east down Jasper to 101 Street and finishing northbound to 103 Avenue.

The parade assembly area from 105 Street to 108 Street will be closed between Jasper Avenue and 104 Avenue from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. Access to off-street parking facilities in the area will be available on 106 and 107 Streets until 8:30 a.m., the city says.

Starting at 8:30 a.m., Jasper Avenue will be closed from 109 Street to 100 Street and 101 Street will be blocked from Jasper Avenue to 102A Avenue.

Street parking will not be permitted in those areas and vehicle towing will be in effect.

The city is recommending residents use transit to get to the parade. Transit routes affected by the road closures will be detoured until the parade clears. Details on transit detours and routes to the parade can be found on the city’s website.

The pre-parade spectacular kicks off the day at 9 a.m.

Marshals for the parade will be Canadian Olympic figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond, who will be at the front, and members of Alberta Special Olympics — in celebration of their 50th anniversary — will be marshalling each individual entry.

The parade kicks off the 10-day festival at Northlands that opens Friday at noon.