Warwick, RI Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 76-5 defines a parade broadly as any parade, march, motorcade, ceremony, show, exhibition, pageant, road race, bicycle race, walk-a-thon or procession of people, animals or vehicles on a public street, sidewalk, alley, park or other public place, except funeral processions. No one may engage in, participate in, aid, form or start a parade without a permit from the board of public safety; the exemptions are funeral processions, students traveling to or from school activities, and government agencies acting within their functions. An applicant files with the chief of police not less than 30 and not more than 60 days before the event, disclosing the organizer's contact information, the route, starting and ending points, the number of people, animals and vehicles involved, the hours of the parade, and assembly point details; the board may accept late applications filed less than ten days out for good cause.

The board must find the parade will not substantially disrupt traffic, will not divert so many police officers or ambulances as to leave the rest of the city unprotected, will not interfere with firefighting access, and is not being held principally to advertise a product or for private profit (though a commercial parade may proceed if the organizer agrees to pay for police detail). If the board denies the requested terms, it can offer an alternate date, time, route or conditions, and the applicant has five days to accept in writing.

The permit must be carried by the parade chairperson during the event, and the chief of police can post no-parking signs along the route enforceable against anyone who parks there.