Shreveport, LA Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Section 62-27 covers any organized use of park land: erecting a structure, staging a performance, running a race or athletic contest, holding a parade, or holding a meeting or giving a speech, all require a permit from the director of public assembly and recreation, issued at his discretion when he finds the use consistent with protecting the park. The application must reach the director in writing at least 45 days before the event, state the park and specific area requested, and, for a group or organization, list its three principal officers or, if it has none, three leaders; the director must notify the applicant within two working days whether the area is available, and can offer an alternate date if the space is already booked.

A permit only authorizes what its written terms allow: breaking any term, or any law, ordinance, rule or regulation, is grounds for the director to revoke it outright, forfeit any fees paid, and still pursue the permittee for damages beyond that forfeiture. Amplifying equipment, platforms or vehicles cannot be used in a park gathering unless the director specifically approves them, though the department itself can co-sponsor events using city-owned or city-controlled equipment. Reserving a specific athletic facility, ballfields, football fields, tennis courts, field houses, gymnasiums, recreation centers or other facilities the director designates, runs through the separate, simpler permit in section 62-30, secured directly from the director or a designee without the 45-day lead time. Parades that leave park property and use city streets shift to the police department's permit under section 78-111.