Boston, MA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Boston Code of Ordinances Sec. 3 requires anyone who wants to hold or sponsor a 'demonstration' on city park land, including the Common and the Public Garden, to get a permit from the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation first. The ordinance defines DEMONSTRATION broadly: demonstrating, picketing, speechmaking, marching, holding vigils, and any other conduct expressing views or grievances that is likely to draw a substantial crowd of onlookers or participants. That sweep covers a street parade or civic march that moves through or assembles on park land, not just formal protests.

Casual park use with no propensity to attract a crowd falls outside the permit requirement. The Commissioner cannot simply refuse an application: the section directs the office to honor all requests for permits, reserving only the authority to fix the time, place and manner of the event so it does not collide with competing uses of the park or threaten public safety and convenience. Before a permit issues, the applicant must post a bond with a satisfactory surety, or a cash deposit of the same amount, payable to the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The bond covers the cost of restoring, rehabilitating and cleaning up the park land the event used; any unused portion is returned to the permittee once the site is put back in order. This section sits inside the Public Grounds article alongside separate rules on vending, amplified sound and general park conduct (Secs. 4), so an event that also involves a sound system, a booth or sales table needs to clear those sections too. Because Boston zones and governs its parks under its own Code rather than a county or the Massachusetts Zoning Act, this permit obligation applies uniformly across every Boston park.