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Uptown on the Hilltop Parade
(by Sean Lehosit, Westside Editor - October 11, 2011)
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Photo courtesy Friends of the Hilltop
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A float for the West High School Alumni rides down the road in the 2009 Uptown on the Hilltop Parade.
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After no parade last year, Uptown on the Hilltop makes its return on Oct. 23.
The event is co-sponsored by Friends of the Hilltop (FOTH) and the Hilltop YMCA.
Parade participants will gather at the Ohio Department of Public Safety, 1970 W. Broad St., at 12:30 p.m. and step-off at 2:30 p.m. The parade will travel west down West Broad Street and then left on Powell Avenue, ending at West High School.
According to Gary Baker, president of FOTH, the parade was changed from its earlier date of Oct. 16 due to scheduling conflicts with the Columbus Division of Police, Columbus Marathon and securing special duty officers.
Both sponsors said their goal this year is to increase community involvement with the parade and to see more people either in the parade or as spectators. Uptown on the Hilltop showcases the organizations and associations available around the Hilltop area.
“It’s a community parade and gives opportunity for the community to come together,” Baker said. “You can see people in the parade that are active in the community.”
Baker added the parade allows churches and local businesses to advertise themselves and meet potential patrons. The parade also enables local politicians and resident voters to meet and greet, as well as for old friends to reunite.
“It’s almost a Hilltop reunion,” Baker said. “You get to see people you don’t get to see everyday.”
Baker said Uptown on the Hilltop is like a rolling bean dinner and while it has not been held annually in recent years, organizers would like to see the event grow to the popularity it once held in the community.
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