'Funnest parade in Cincinnati': Northside July 4 event in jeopardy

Men with drills, ladies with lawn chairs, air guitar musicians and other Northside Fourth of July Parade regulars may need a new place to march this year.

Organizers of the 150-plus-year-old neighborhood tradition – "This is the big Northside event," according to parade Co-Chair Sara Birkhofer – said the event is in jeopardy over police protection.

Northside usually hires 12 officers for security on the mile-and-a-half parade route, paying them one-and-half times their usual hourly wage.

This year, the Cincinnati Police Department is requiring 21 officers, after earlier calling for 24 and telling organizers they won't likely be able to provide that many, Birkhofer said Wednesday.

"These police roadblocks are not what I signed up for," she said.

'Our route is crucial'

Police have suggested that Northside shorten its parade route, spending less time on Hamilton Avenue, so it needs fewer officers, Birkhofer said. The community objects because Hamilton, as the main drag through Northside, is the most populated with the most diverse crowd.

"Our long-established route is crucial for accommodating parade entries, participants and the spectators who line Hamilton Avenue," the parade committee said in a Change.org petition launched about two weeks ago.

The petition took off Tuesday when the parade committee posted about it on Facebook. By Wednesday afternoon, more than 700 people had signed it, with a goal of 1,000.

"This is truly an outrage! First property tax hikes, now canceling our parade????," one Facebook reader commented.

Another writer suggested police officers just want a payday. "Have they given any rationale except 'Cops want more O.T.?' " he wrote.

City, community negotiations continue

Police told the community additional officers are needed to keep the parade safe, Birkhofer said. To that she said: "This parade has never seen any significant safety issues."

The city disputed that, however. "Following incidents of people driving through the event site last year, the city feels strongly about safely staffing this event," city spokeswoman Mollie Lair said, noting that she was not aware of any resulting accident or injury.

Northside fears it will not be able to find 21 officers to work the parade, given a change in city policy. The city last year decided officers could only take such detail assignments, as they are known, if not on duty.

"They really need to be available for calls for service, especially on Fourth of July," Lair said.

Lair noted that City Manager Sheryl Long has been directly involved in conversations with parade organizers and "is confident we will come to a resolution that will allow for the parade to safely continue."

Cincinnati City Council member Mark Jeffreys, also involved in negotiations, called the parade "an iconic Cincinnati tradition."

"We need to ensure safety for all while doing everything possible to keep the parade in its celebrated format," Jeffreys said via email. 

The Northside Fourth of July Parade was first staged in 1854 to welcome an orphanage to the neighborhood. It continued through 1960 when what became St. Joseph Orphanage moved out. The parade returned in 1970 and, except for a 2020 COVID-19 break, has been organized every year since.

The parade celebrates the "weird, amazing, artistic spirit of Northside," Birkhofer said. "I've had so many people tell me it's the funnest parade in Cincinnati."