CINCINNATI — An annual Thanksgiving tradition is officially back in Price Hill this holiday season after a team of volunteers stepped in to save it.
The Price Hill Thanksgiving Day Parade was originally set to be permanently canceled last year after its organizing committee stepped down.
“We've tried to recruit new members over the years but the interest and dedication weren't there,” the committee wrote in a post on the Price Hill Thanksgiving Day Parade Facebook page.
Social media posts by the committee and its volunteers also cited a desire to enjoy the holiday with family, rising costs and a “culture of violence.”
“It was devastating for a lot of people,” said Joe Tallarigo, who grew up watching the parade. “I know a lot of families who look forward to it every year.”
That’s when Tallarigo decided to step up to save the parade. He helped recruit volunteers to form a new committee.
While it was too late to save the event last year, the group got to work to plan the parade for 2023.
“After all the changes in Price Hill, this is one thing that should have remained the heart and soul,” Tallarigo said.
“It's pretty much everybody's first year,” said Susan Bilz, who is also on the committee. “Even though we're all new at this, I think we've got a lot of new energy.”
Bilz has lived in Price Hill for decades. She marched in the parade as a teenager.
“It is a life of this community,” she said. “It brings back hope. It brings back family, togetherness.”
The committee still needs 48 volunteers to pull the event off. Volunteers will assist with setting up barricades and monitoring them during the parade.
Tallarigo says the committee has been reaching out to schools and posting on social media. Those interested in volunteering can message the “Price Hill Thanksgiving Day Parade” Facebook page here.
“They're the unsung heroes of this parade,” he said.
Otherwise, rain or shine, Tallarigo says the parade will be “stronger than ever.”
The parade is set for Thanksgiving morning (November 23) at 10 a.m. It will start at Western Hills High School, run down Glenway Ave. and Warsaw Ave. and end at St. Lawrence Church.
If you’d like to donate to parade efforts, you can make a donation here.
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