Villagers are sure to flock to Spanish Springs Town Square on Tuesday as the Italian-German Parade steps off at 3:15 p.m.
The parade will be followed by the Heritage Festival, which lasts from 4 to 9 p.m. It will be a celebration for friends and neighbors to share rich traditions and enjoy music, food and plenty of entertainment.
Like last year’s event, Tuesday’s parade will feature a variety of groups, golf carts and floats. Entertainment afterwards will be provided by the Global Distinction Band with Clark Barrios. Several resident performance groups, including The Villages Twirlers and Drum Corps, the Silver Rockettes, the Prime Time Twirlers and the Spanish Folkloric Dance Troupe, also will entertain the crowd.
A second Heritage Festival is planned for Brownwood on Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. For more information, contact Resident Parade Committee member Peggy Carli at (352) 350-2798 or by email at peggycarli4@gmail.com. You also can learn more at districtgov.org.
Parades in The Villages previously were put on hold by The Villages Entertainment Department, which announced in 2012 that parades would be discontinued. That set off a furor among Villages groups that enjoyed taking part in the parades. Villagers appealed to the Amenity Authority Committee and a deal was initially struck to stage the Irish parade in March and the Italian and German parades in October. The Resident Parade Committee decided to combine the latter two parades and is hopeful Villagers will continue to embrace the concept for years to come.
