Knoxville’s 97th Veterans Day Parade will march down Gay Street on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, with some minor changes to the route and new road closures. 

As usual, parking on Gay Street will be prohibited starting at 8 a.m. New this year: Hill Avenue between Gay Street and Hall of Fame Drive will be closed to local traffic from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the Gay Street Bridge will be closed from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

City staff coordinated these modifications in consideration of hundreds of Knox County school students attending a morning performance at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Special Events Director Kyndra Brewer says school buses’ access to Howard Baker Jr. Avenue required adjusting the parade’s staging locations. 

“We’ve worked with the American Legion, the Coliseum, Knoxville Police Department and our Engineering department to adapt the parade route and the staging and parking areas to accommodate the school groups coming downtown and the many veterans groups that participate in the parade,” Brewer says. 

The parade, organized by the American Legion Post 2 with support from the City of Knoxville Office of Special Events, will span most of Gay Street through downtown and feature at least 85 parade units, including 10 area high school marching bands, vintage military vehicles, and representatives of local businesses and organizations. Women veterans are the special honorees at this year’s parade. World War II veteran Eileen Neiler will serve as Grand Marshal.

The parade will step off at 10:40 a.m. from Hill Avenue and proceed north on Gay Street. The procession will halt at 11 a.m. near Mast General Store for an Honor Guard ceremony, the National Anthem and the swearing in of new Air Force recruits. The parade will continue down Gay Street and turn onto Magnolia Avenue, where it will conclude. 

Parking is free for the Veterans Day holiday in all City-owned garages and metered spaces not located on the parade route. Dwight Kessel Garage is also open for free parking, with access prior to and during the parade limited to the entrance on South Central Street, as Hill Avenue will be closed. 

WATE Channel 6 will broadcast the parade live, and WBIR Channel 10 will stream the parade on the WBIR App and its YouTube channel.