The Portland Veterans Day Parade is Back With a New Route

The Portland Veterans Day Parade will be back in action on November 11, 2022, under new leadership and taking a new route along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Leading the team of organizers is Napoleon Hodgers, commander of the Northwest Chapter of National Association for Black Veterans. “It is my honor and duty to continue the tradition of recognizing our veterans on this very important day. Every one of us has returned home a different person, and the parade is one way we can all come together to celebrate and remember those who served our nation,” says Hodgers.

For the first time since 1974, the parade will travel along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. instead of NE Sandy Blvd. The parade was established in 1974 by Vernon E. Ross, then-proprietor of Ross Hollywood Funeral Chapel. After the business was sold to a national corporation, Dignity Memorial assumed planning responsibilities. Dignity Memorial paused the parade in 2020 and made the difficult decision to step down from organizing. With the change in organizational leadership came the opportunity to re-envision the parade, resulting in the decision to relocate the route. “After careful consideration, the team decided to implement a new route. Having the parade on MLK provides logistical ease while still being close to public transportation and engaging a different part of the community than in years past,” explains Hodgers.

The parade will begin at NE Beech St. and NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., traveling north to Alberta, turning left on NE Alberta and concluding at the Natural Grocers parking lot at 5055 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Staging of parade participants will be on NE Beech St. east of MLK.

Parade participants typically include veterans, marching bands, youth organizations, the honored 1st Marine Division Association, historic military vehicles, veterans organizations, and veterans motorcycle groups. Previous parades featured nearly 2,000 participants. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Because the new planning team is almost exclusively volunteer, sponsorships are critical to the success of the parade. Visit veteransdayPDX.org to view the parade route, register to be in the parade, sign up to volunteer, and to sponsor.