Canton, OH Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Canton Codified Ordinances § 311.02 requires anyone conducting or participating in a parade, procession or assemblage upon a street or highway, or blocking off a street or highway area, to first obtain a permit from the Public Safety Director. Applications must be filed on prescribed forms with information reasonably necessary to a fair determination of whether a permit should issue, and must be submitted not less than five days before the intended date. The Director may refuse or cancel a permit if the resulting conditions would unreasonably hinder the movement of traffic, would require diverting enough police officers or firefighters to deprive the city of normal police and fire protection, or would be reasonably likely to provoke disorderly conduct, create a disturbance, or threaten resident safety.

Any permit issued may limit or set reasonable conditions, including the hours of the event, the places of assembly and dispersal, the route of march or travel, and which streets or portions of streets may be used. Section 311.04 adds that a parade permit also authorizes the permittee to use the public right-of-way along the route for vending merchandise, wares, goods, beverages and food, and for erecting bleachers, grandstands, or similar viewing structures, provided the permittee complies with the EEO Department, Building Department, Health Department, and City Income Tax Department requirements for those activities. That vending and structure allowance was added by Ordinance 48-85, passed March 4, 1985.