Road Closings Planned for Founders Day Parade

The finishing touches are being put on this Saturday’s 2011 Founders Day Parade, an event so fun that it has earned an appearance from “Izo” of the Georgia Tourism Commission.

Izo, Georgia’s holiday tourism ambassador, will be at the reviewing stand and other locations during the event. Izo is a cardboard snowman who travels to select holiday events in the Peach State and who writes about his experiences on Twitter and Facebook. People are invited to have their photos taken with Izo, a creation of the Georgia Tourism Commission.

The parade, which celebrates the founding of the City of Johns Creek five years ago, will have 85 units, involve about 2,000 participants and about 10,000 spectators along the route on State Bridge Road.

In preparation for the big event, bands, vehicles and floats are being assigned slots, volunteers organized, and a traffic plan implemented.

People who had planned to travel State Bridge Road on Saturday morning should consider alternate routes, such as Abbotts Bridge Road or McGinnis Road, from about 8 a.m. to noon. 

The parade route will be closed in three stages from south to north until the 1.4-mile route between Morton and Kimball Bridge roads is blocked off. Closings include side streets. Traffic from Twingate Drive will be allowed to enter and exit State Bridge Road in the direction of Medlock Bridge Road.

• 8 a.m. – The city will block off State Bridge between East and West Morton roads. Morton Road is shaped like a horseshoe with both sides crossing State Bridge Road. That means motorists on State Bridge Road can use Morton as a detour to go around the closed segment and continue on State Bridge until about 9:15 a.m.
• 9:15 a.m. – The city will close the next segment of State Bridge Road, from West Morton Road to Jones Bridge Road. Jones Bridge will remain open until about 10 a.m.
• 10 a.m. – State Bridge Road will be closed all the way from East Morton Road to Kimball Bridge Road. The roadblocks should be lifted by about noon.

The 2011 parade welcomes some notable newcomers, and returns some perennial favorites. Among the new faces is the Georgia Devil Dog Detachment #952 of the Marine Corps League, whose float features a re-enactment of the iconic flag-raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima. 

Other new attractions include the “Seed and Feed Marching Abominables,” street-theater marching band; the Atholl Highlanders Pipes and Drums; the North Metro SWAT team; the Georgia Military Vehicle Preservation Association; Lauren Dinges, America’s Junior National Teenager; and Johns Creek’s homegrown hip-hop artist, Cory Lyons.

Returnees include the World Financial Group-sponsored NASCAR race car, the Atlanta Braves drumline, and the Shriners’ mini-cars, Potentate Escort, and clown bus.

The parade, which culminates a week of activities, will be followed by “Santa Jam,” a community party at Johns Creek High School that features music, food, race cars and other entertainment until 1 p.m.

– City of Johns Creek