Seafair Torchlight Parade: Jenni Hogan's Inside Scoop

The 2011 Alaska Airlines Torchlight Parade Presented by AT&T and LG is coming up on Saturday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. in downtown Seattle!!!! If you’re thinking of going (which you should it’s a blast) here are my inside tips from riding down the parade on the KIRO 7 float the last two years:

Fun things to do before the parade starts:
The parade starts at 7:30pm but it’s super fun to get there early and head over to the Seattle Center for the pre-parade party. That goes from 2-6pm. You’ll be able to check out the floats, and meet the parade participants.Then it’s time for the Torchlight run you can see all the participants getting ready from 6-6:30p then they take off running the route at 6:30pm when you can scream and cheer for them (and high five them as they run past you). The streets start closing around 5pm so traffic starts to get bad after that. If you can arrive before then it’ll make it much easier.

Best place to sit:
From riding on the float I get to see the entire route, the last 2 years I noticed there is some more room and good places to sit closer to the end of the parade route. If I was going to take Siena and the hubby I would go to the stairs of some of the business buildings right in the heart of Downtown Seattle (the stairs would give you a great view if you can’t get there early enough to get front row seating). You can also purchase tickets here to get guarenteed seating in one of the 4 grand stands along the parade route (these sell out quickly so try do that soon if you like this option). They range in price from $18 to $37 per ticket. Here is a link to the parade route.

Best place to be seen on TV:
The KIRO 7 TV cameras will mostly be around Westlake and 4th. There is a grand stand there you can purchase tickets for, or you can arrive early and grab a spot along the route right near that section. Make sure if you’re sitting near there you tweet me so I know and can come say hi. If you’re watching on TV, tune in from 5 p.m. -- that’s when our news starts. I’ll be in the pre parade show reporting with the rest of the morning team. Then during the parade we’ll be on a float waving, so I’ll do a big wave at the cameras when we go past the TV section to say hi to you all (so fun!). Oh and it’ll be livestreamed on the web so if you don’t live in Seattle you can still watch.

Waving to people on the floats:
Wave and smile big, it’s so easy to see people from the floats which surprised me the first time we went down the route. We can also hear what you scream out too and will yell back at you so be loud. Signs are also great and really fun!!Leave a comment with any tips you have about attending the parade too!!YAY I can’t wait!- Jenni

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