Children see treats and " don't see the vehicles."
Some of the candy thrown by parade participants during the Jamesville Memorial Day Parade ended up on Route 173. Jamesville -- It’s as much a holiday parade tradition as flags and marching bands: Candy lobbed to children lining the parade route.
Saturday, at the Memorial Day Parade in Jamesville, members of Junior Girl Scout Troop 729 tossed bagfuls of treats as they marched. Some of the candy was scooped up by toddlers from the shoulder of the road. Other pieces ended up on Route 173, tempting children to run out in front of vehicles.
“There have been some close calls in the past,” Manlius Recreation Director Jim Raulli said. “The kids don’t see the moving vehicles. They just see the candy — and they’re very quick.”
That’s why a bent toward safety is winning out over the bit of Americana in which parade participants wing handfuls of candy from floats at throngs of kids lining the roadway. Many parade organizers, concerned about potential injury and liability, are saying no to the candy tossing tradition.
Most Central New York communities have not banned the sweets entirely. Instead — as was the case in Jamesville — candy throwers have been asked to walk alongside floats and give treats to spectators.
Although the request has not gone beyond a polite advisory locally, some municipalities in other states have passed ordinances against the practice and threatened fines if participants do not comply.