CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct. 6, 2023) — The Columbus Day Parade is marching back to Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood on Monday, Oct. 9, along Mayfield Road.
Elaborate floats, marching bands, local artifacts, and city leaders will make up the parade, which steps off at noon to celebrate Northeast Ohio’s deeply rooted Italian American culture.
As usual, Columbus Day Mass will be held at Holy Rosary Church at 10 a.m.
Cleveland’s Columbus Day celebrations, sponsored by Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA), date back to 1920 when several Italian American enclaves across the city paid homage to their heritage.
After World War II, the parade unified and was held downtown before eventually moving to Little Italy in 2003.
STATEMENT FROM ISDA NATIONAL PRESIDENT AND GREATER CLEVELAND COLUMBUS DAY CHAIRMAN BASIL M. RUSSO:
“On Columbus Day, Italian Americans pay tribute to our ancestors, and to all walks of life, who arrived in Northeast Ohio and built better lives for their families. Many aren’t aware of this, but Columbus’ parades and statues were used by early Italian Americans to fuel assimilation during a decades-long period of oppression. In fact, the first national Columbus Day celebration honoring Italian Americans was held in 1892 in NYC as a way to ease tensions after 11 innocent Italian immigrants were murdered in New Orleans in front of the largest lynch mob ever to assemble on U.S. soil.”
Apart from enjoying the sights and feasting on local recipes, attendees are encouraged to visit the Italian American Museum of Cleveland, which opened on Mayfield Road in 2021.
Read President Joe Biden’s 2023 Columbus Day Proclamation
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