Parades to be featured Friday and Saturday

The annual Fireman’s Parade is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, and the Urbanna Oyster Festival Parade is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4.

The Fireman’s Parade will wind its way through town, while the Oyster Festival Parade will bypass the main part of Virginia Street. Both parades will assemble on the west side of town.

The route of the Fireman’s Parade will be as follows: from the staging on the west side of town, east on Virginia Street, left on Grace Avenue, right on Bonner Street, left on Rappahannock Avenue, right on Marston Avenue, right on Cross Street, right on Virginia Street, and return to the staging area. The judges stand will be at the Urbanna Firehouse.

The Fireman’s Parade will feature 80 fire and rescue units, beauty queens and dignitaries. It is sponsored by the Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD) of Urbanna.

The Fireman’s Dance follows the parade on the firehouse grounds from 8 p.m.-midnight with the band “Exit 38,” which performs rock and roll, Southern rock and Motown tunes (beer garden gates open at noon on Friday). The dance is sponsored by Al Pugh Distributing with Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Devils Backbone.

Saturday’s Oyster Festival Parade will have more than 50 units, leading off with our honorees and grand marshal and captains, queens and spats. About five or six high school bands will be marching in the parade.

The route of the Oyster Festival Parade is as follows: from the staging area on the west side of town, east on Virginia Street, left on Grace Avenue, right on Bonner Street, left on Rappahannock Avenue, right on Marston Avenue, right on Cross Street, right on Prince George Street, left on Virginia Street, and return to the staging area. The judges stand will be at Virginia Street and Rappahannock Avenue, which is also the location of the festival headquarters for the weekend. Prime viewing is on Marston Avenue or Prince George Street.