Wilmington, NC Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 11-12 requires anyone holding a parade in Wilmington to get a written permit from the city manager before the event, and that permit designates the specific dates and the specific streets over which the parade may pass; there is no citywide right to march a route the manager has not designated. A second layer applies to circuses or other operations using heavy equipment, such as hauling heavy wagons and paraphernalia along city streets: before that hauling is allowed, the circus or other activity must post a cash bond, in an amount the city manager sets, that guarantees restitution for any street damage the heavy loads cause.

Heavy loads cannot be hauled over any street outside a permit that spells out both the streets to be used and the date and hour of the parade. The ordinance also polices conduct during the parade itself: no one may throw, spray, or scatter any substance, object, or material on or over a street or the adjacent sidewalks and pedestrian areas while a parade is underway, and that ban reaches parade participants directly, covering candy, prizes, or favors of any kind thrown from a float or by a marcher along the route. The section traces back to a 1962 codification and was amended in 1999 to add the anti-throwing language.