Crystal Beach parade road closures on Saturday: what you need to know

Drivers in Crystal Beach and Ridgeway should expect delays Saturday afternoon, when the End of Summer Parade takes over about five kilometres of local roads.

The Town of Fort Erie said the closures are in place from noon to 2:30 p.m. Streets will not all shut at once. Each section closes as the parade approaches and reopens once it has passed.

The parade leaves the Crystal Ridge Arena on Ridge Road South at 1 p.m. and ends at the Crystal Chandelier on Erie Road. Entries line up at the arena at noon. The parade goes ahead rain or shine, with about 35 entries this year.

Based on the route map the town circulated, these sections will be affected:

• Ridge Road South, between the arena and Rebstock Road
• Rebstock Road, between Ridge Road and Schooley Road
• Ridgeway Road, between Rebstock Road and Erie Road
• Derby Road, between Rebstock Road and Erie Road
• Schooley Road, between Rebstock Road and Erie Road
• Erie Road, between Schooley Road and the Crystal Chandelier

Winnie Swalm, 91, will lead the procession as grand marshal. She has sat on the Crystal Beach Beautification Committee since 2000, and the committee will follow her with a float of its own.

Revolution, a Niagara-based steel drum band, is a new musical addition parade co-chair Paul Lewis told Fort Erie Radio he was looking forward to this year.

Last Chance Horse and Pony Rescue will also be bringing horses back to the parade for the first time in at least 12 years.

Summer cottagers started the parade in the mid-1960s as a mock funeral for Old Man Summer. It returned about 25 years ago, after a break that followed the closing of Crystal Beach Park in 1989.

A ceremony and awards presentation will follow at the Crystal Chandelier once the parade arrives.

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