DAYTON — The Dayton Holiday Festival Grande Illumination and Children’s Parade will return for its 51st season this November with new safety recommendations.
The event will take place at downtown Dayton’s Courthouse Square on Friday, Nov. 24.
Organizers said they will be making some changes based on safety recommendations following last year’s event.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, a single gunshot was fired into the air at last year’s event and it sent the festival goes into chaos, running for safety.
“In the days immediately following the incident, event organizers, Dayton Police, and other key community members held a comprehensive and thorough review of the event. Meetings and discussions have continued in the months since to further examine event programming, operations, timing, location, and safety protocols,” a spokesperson for the Downtown Dayton Partnership said in a news release.
These three new safety recommendations will be implemented at this year’s event:
- Reposition and better disperse on-duty officers around the event footprint to create better coverage and visibility at the event, including the addition of bike patrol officers
- Use supplemental security resources to increase the safety presence at the event
- Move the event start and end time one hour earlier (3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.)
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“Continuing this beloved holiday tradition is important to our community. In doing so, the comfort and safety of our guests at the Dayton Holiday Festival remains our highest priority,” Sandra K. Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, said. “It is our obligation to carefully examine all aspects of the event to ensure we do all we can to keep this downtown tradition of 50 years a safe and welcoming place for all.”
More details about this year’s Dayton Holiday Festival will be announced in the coming months.
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