A longtime Amarillo tradition has been cancelled for this year.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the Tri-State Fair and Rodeo has chosen to cancel its upcoming fair parade. The parade, which has been occurring in Amarillo for almost a century, was cancelled due to cost concerns after the City of Amarillo chose to withdraw financial support for the parade.
In a letter to organizers and attendees, the Tri-State Fair announced the cancellation of the parade, citing the financial concerns as the primary reason for the closing of the longtime tradition.
"In the past, the City of Amarillo has been kind enough to absorb many of the costs associated with the parade," Tri-State Fair officials said in the letter. "Several of those costs include barricades and officers for safety and security (costing around $7,000 for a parade this size). Unfortunately, the City will not be able to absorb those costs any longer, and the Tri-State Fair does not have access to that kind of money in the budget."
During a small press conference at Amarillo City Hall, city manager Jared Miller weighed in on the cancellation, saying that he was unaware that the parade would be cancelled, but said that the City will no longer financially support parades, with the exception of Center City's Electric Light Parade in December.
"We love parades but it's not really something that is a sustainable cost for us," Miller said. "There are going to be parades that we are going to continue to support - like the parade of lights and the Veterans' Day parade - that obviously they are arguing we need to be doing these things. We can't be in the position of picking and choosing which parades get supported and which ones do not."
The cancellation of the parade is not expected to affect the planned opening date for the Tri-State Fair and Rodeo. The Fair is scheduled to run from September 14-22 at the Tri-State Fairgrounds in Amarillo.
UPDATE (3pm):
The City of Amarillo has issued the following response to the cancellation of the Tri-State Fair parade:
Last year, 94 parade permits were issued by the City of Amarillo. In the past, the City has provided support services which could include police presence, barricades and trash clean-up. When services are provided for parades or events, cost incurred by the City could be up to $15,000 per event.
Providing this level of in-kind support from the City creates a financial burden to tax payers, which led to the decision to pass the cost on to parade and event organizers. This decision will save taxpayers significant dollars annually. The City encourages event organizers to seek sponsorships or private funds to cover the support costs.
A year ago, the City notified the Tri-State Fair organizers about this change allowing time for planning; however, as of today, their board announced the parade cancellation. The Tri-State Fair has been a great partner with Amarillo, and we are ready to provide services for future parades and events.
Photo by Tri-State Fair Parade