Bergen County, NJ Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Article III(ff) of the Bergen County Parks System Rules and Regulations, 'Public Gatherings,' states that no person or group on or within park premises shall conduct a public meeting or gathering or entertainment of any kind, preach or make any harangue, or conduct or move in a parade or procession without prior written permission from the County. The written-permission requirement functions as the county's parade and special-event permit for park property: an organizer cannot rely on a verbal go-ahead from a ranger or an informal understanding, and the permission must be secured before the event, not after it starts moving.

The rule is reinforced by Article III(bb), 'Permit,' which separately bars anyone from participating in or operating any permit-required activity without first obtaining the proper permit, and requires compliance with whatever conditions the permit carries once granted. Article V of the ordinance governs the permit process itself, with permits issued by the Bergen County Parks Department. Because 'entertainment of any kind' and 'public meeting or gathering' are both swept into the same permission requirement as a parade or procession, the rule reaches a broad range of organized park activity beyond a literal marching parade, including rallies, staged performances, and organized speeches.

A group that starts moving as a procession or begins a gathering without having secured that written permission in advance is in violation from the moment the activity begins, regardless of its size or whether it disrupts other park visitors.