Print

Hooker Day Parade Is Saturday

High-Spirited Event Will Mark Hartford's 1635 Settlement

October 21, 2010

HARTFORD — — The eclectic, high-spirited Hooker Day parade, known for its oddly dressed marchers, costumed animals and homemade floats, takes place this Saturday downtown.

This year's parade will be "bigger and weirder than ever before" to mark the city's 375th anniversary, organizers at the nonprofit Hartford Business Improvement District said.

Mayor Pedro Segarra will march dressed as Thomas Hooker, the city's founder, and escort Patti Christians, a 13th-generation descendant of Hooker, who will be dressed as a pilgrim.

Roughly 200 participants are expected in the parade. They'll toss candy, buttons, T-shirts and other paraphernalia to spectators along the streets.

"The theme is Hartford's 375th birthday," said Erin Pollard, special events and development strategist for the Hartford Business Improvement District. "We're really trumpeting the Thomas Hooker connection."

The nearly 1-mile-long parade will begin at High and Allyn streets and continue onto Ann Street, Church Street, Trumbull Street and Pearl Street, before circling back to Ann and Allyn. It will end in front of the Pourhouse bar on Allyn Street.

In addition to Segarra and Christians, members of the city council are expected to march.

Former Mayor Mike Peters organized the first Hooker Day parade in 1991 as a tribute to Hooker, who led a procession of men, women and children to settle in Hartford in 1635. The parade was discontinued in 2001, but was revived by the Hartford Business Improvement District in 2008.

The parade will begin at 2 p.m. In case of rain, it will be rescheduled for Sunday. For more information, visit Hartford.com.