Petaluma's Veterans Day Parade Began as a Walk, and It Still Runs Like One

In 1984 and 1985, Julius Forcucci walked Petaluma's Veterans Day route alone with an American flag. He had walked it every year since 1967 with two fellow World War I veterans. By 1984 he was the only one left to carry the flag. In 1986, 50 veterans joined him, and according to the parade's own history, that is when the annual parade began.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, the event that grew out of that walk will step off from Walnut Park at 1 p.m. Organizers and Visit Petaluma both call it the largest Veterans Day parade north of the Golden Gate, with about 2,000 participants and up to 40,000 spectators. The crowd has grown enormously, but the format hasn't changed much. It is still a walk on a fixed date that any group in town can join, and it still ends in the same park where it starts.

Two Founding Dates, One Walk

Two numbers about this parade seem to disagree. Visit Petaluma says it was founded in 1986. But the Press Democrat's 2024 coverage called that year's event the 58th annual parade.

Both numbers are right. They just start counting at different points. Count from 1967 through 2024, one parade a year, and you get 58. That count treats Forcucci's walks as the first editions. The 1986 date marks the year the walk turned into an organized parade. The organizer's timeline shows how one led to the other:

1. 1967 to 1983: Forcucci and two fellow World War I veterans walk the route together.
2. 1984 and 1985: Forcucci walks alone, carrying an American flag.
3. 1986: Fifty veterans join him, and the annual parade begins.
4. 1988: At the Veterans Day parade that fall, a riderless horse with its stirrups tied to the saddle leads the parade in Forcucci's honor.
5. Early 1990s: The parade reaches 100 entries.
6. 2019: More than 200 entries, more than 2,000 participants and an estimated 40,000 spectators.

The parade grew by adding people to the walk, and the way it signs up entries still works like that.

How 50 Veterans Became 2,000 Participants

The parade welcomes community groups, nonprofits and organizations of all kinds. They can build floats, march in large numbers, or ride or walk in support of veterans, as the Argus-Courier reported on Oct. 3 when applications opened.

The 2026 application is short. It asks for the entry's name and main participants, a phone number or email, and a description of 40 words or fewer. The parade announcers read that text aloud to introduce each entry to the crowd. So every group that marches gets introduced to the street in its own words.

One thing is new in 2026. Applications now carry a $70 entry fee, which the Argus-Courier says will help cover costs and support veterans in need. Petaluma's veterans' groups still run the event together. The entry form lists Joe Noriel as the American Legion Post 28 coordinator. The Argus-Courier lists him as the parade contact at (707) 776-7534.

The regular entries on this year's lineup show the range of groups that sign up. Visit Petaluma's 2026 highlights include:

• The Petaluma Riding and Driving Club Color Guard
• US Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma at Two Rock
• The American Legion Riders and RIP City Riders
• The Northbay Military Vehicle Club, the Model A Club and the Ferrari Club
• Vintage aircraft flyovers, including the flyover and landing of a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter
• Food vendors

The Argus-Courier adds that military parents and military children will ride or walk, as they do every year. It also lists the Cotati Harley Club.

The Date Holds, Whatever the Weekday

Many towns move their parades to the nearest weekend. Petaluma doesn't. The 2025 parade ran on Tuesday, Nov. 11. This year's runs on Wednesday, Nov. 11. That matches the walk it grew from. Forcucci marked the day itself, not a convenient weekend near it.

The parade has also gone ahead in difficult years. Days before the 2025 parade, the Argus-Courier reported that the federal shutdown meant active Coast Guard personnel could not march in uniform. The pre-parade swearing-in of recruits was canceled. The organizer called it the first such cancellation in the parade's history. Coast Guard cadets volunteered at the event anyway, in civilian clothes.

The parade itself went on. Thousands lined the streets under gray skies that cleared now and then. They watched military vehicles, classic cars, motorcycles, marching bands, bagpipers, a Huey and three low-flying planes. The crowd cheered for "Vets in Corvettes," and children gathered candy along the curb. The American Indian Preservation Fund brought two carved redwood dugout canoes to honor Native American veterans. Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma is back on Visit Petaluma's 2026 highlights list.

Wednesday in Walnut Park, Start to Finish

The 2026 theme is "Celebrating 250 Years of the United States of America." The Grand Marshal is Andrew LeMarQuand, Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1929. The day runs on this schedule:

The two published lineups name different noon acts. The Argus-Courier lists Johnathan Parneli and Friends, and Visit Petaluma lists DJ Peter Lombardi.

The route is a loop. It leaves Walnut Park and goes up Fourth and Kentucky streets to Washington Street, then comes back to Walnut Park along Petaluma Boulevard. In 2022, the Press Democrat described the turns in more detail. The parade started at Fourth and D, went north on Fourth to Kentucky, turned right onto East Washington, and came back up Petaluma Boulevard North to the park. Because the route starts and ends at Walnut Park, anyone watching near the park can see the parade leave at 1 p.m. and then stay for the closing program.

The 2:45 program includes the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer, speakers that include local and regional dignitaries, and the US Air Force Band with Alycia T Cancel of the USAF Band of the Golden West. Andrea Krout, the 2016 Petaluma Excellence in Agriculture award winner, sings the National Anthem and "God Bless America."

Getting Downtown on a Weekday Afternoon

This is a weekday parade that draws a weekend-sized crowd to downtown streets, so it's worth planning how you'll get there. The City of Petaluma posts street-closure documents, and the parade's website is the organizers' home base. Check both before Wednesday. For a sense of scale, the 2024 parade closed the route and nearby downtown streets mostly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with some closures starting at 8 a.m. The A Street parking lot was closed too, according to Sonoma Index-Tribune coverage that year. This year's closure times may be different.

Veterans Day doesn't appear on SMART's list of 2026 observed holidays. If you plan to take the train, check SMART for the day's service.

At Rhonda Alderman, we're proud to be part of a community that turns out for its veterans every Nov. 11, whatever day of the week it falls on. When you're ready to talk about your own place in Petaluma, request your complimentary home valuation.