Today's the day when the world marches through Williamsport.
Tomorrow, baseball players from all over will march out onto the fields.
The 78th Little League World Series in kicks off this week in South Williamsport, but the big story today is across the Susquehanna River.
Lawn chairs are lined up along the route of the 19th Grand Slam Parade in downtown Williamsport, which kicks off at 5 p.m.
WVIA News is fanning out across the city to cover this festive event.
Tune in to WVIA-FM this afternoon during All Things Considered for live newscasts, hosted by WVIA’s Haley O’Brien from WVIA's Williamsport Studio in the Community Arts Center — which is along the parade route —and keep following this story for live dispatches throughout the day.
The parade begins at the intersection of Maynard and West Fourth Streets in Williamsport.
It moves along Fourth Street and ends at Market Street. All 20 Little League teams, regional and local marching bands, dance groups, floats, fire trucks and more will be featured.
A family tradition
Representatives from Team Puerto Rico sang and laughed as they walked down the Grand Slam Parade Route in Williamsport.
Jose Casanova pitched and played third base for the U.S. territory in the Little League World Series in 1999.
He will now watch his son Sebastian Casanova Diaz play tomorrow in the first game on the international winner’s bracket. Puerto Rico takes on Latin America at 1 p.m.
They got to downtown Williamsport early to watch Sebastian march in the parade with his team.
Through a translator, Casanova said it’s special to come back to Williamsport with his son.
“It’s a unique experience,” he said.
'Get your spot early'
By noon, West Fourth Street was lined with camp chairs and blankets.
"You might come down here on this past Friday and you might see a chair sitting outside. It's pretty crazy,” said Jordan Gephart.
He takes the week off from work every year to help with the parade committee.
“If you don't get your spot early, then your people are afraid they're not going to get one, so they line it up pretty quick,” he said.
Gephart lives in Montoursville but grew up two blocks away from the Little League World Series complex in South Williamsport.
“I love it,” he said.
Across West Fourth Street, Kase Gallagher and Wyatt Mincer already had a front row seat to the parade hours before it began.
"We've been coming for the last couple years, and we know how crazy it gets whenever we welcome the world. And we want to get good seats, you know, we want to have a nice, shady spot, and you'll be able to see all the parade,” said Gallagher.
Wyatt likes everything about being at the complex but especially the hill at Lamade Stadium. Children of all ages slide down the hill during the series.
“I can never slide on cardboard. I always slide off of it.”
Gallagher is from the Lock Haven area. She said it's very cool to have the Little League World Series so close to home.
"We do get all the different countries in the world, pretty much come to Williamsport. I think it's neat that we can see them on TV, and we can just come down here and talk with some of the team moms and whatnot and just see all the different cultures come together," she said.
Slaughter: 'We can't overstate the positive economic impact'
Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter grew up playing for one of the Original Little League teams in the city. He was a pallbearer in Carl Stotz’s funeral. Stotz founded the league.
Slaughter played for Sunset, one of the four teams that had been part of the original Little League. A player was selected from each team to be part of the funeral.
Slaughter just got back to Williamsport from a conference.
“Mayors from all over the country are saying how lucky we are to have, it's essentially, you know, on a smaller scale, obviously, but still a big scale, having the Olympics in Williamsport every single year,” he said.
He agrees. Williamsport is fortunate to have Little League call the city and the borough home, he said.
"It's clearly good for not just the City of Williamsport, but the whole region. You know, the restaurants, hospitality, hotels, businesses, stores. So everyone really, they benefit. We can't overstate the positive economic impact it literally has on us,” he said.
But at the end of the day, he says it’s about the kids.
"It's about the families, the camaraderie, bringing the whole world, welcoming the whole world to Williamsport,” Slaughter said.
Picnic before the parade
Before the teams face off on the baseball diamond, they came together for a picnic with corn dogs and churros.
The 20 teams, officials and volunteers enjoyed a picnic together at the Pennsylvania College of Technology prior to the parade.
Employees from the college lined the sidewalk, applauding each team as they got off buses and walked to the picnic. The college, established in 1914, has a long history of supporting the Little League — established in Williamsport in 1939.
Culinary students provide meals for players in the dorms. Students from the heavy equipment program excavated the site for the iconic fields long ago. College President Michael Reed gave fist bumps to each player, congratulating them on their summer-long journey to Williamsport.
“Little League is a global brand, and we love pulling together with Little League to help provide just an absolutely extraordinary experience and welcoming everybody to our community,” Reed said.
After servings of french fries and fruit salad, the teams played cornhole and posed for photos with the college’s wildcat mascot.
For a team from Chester County, Pennsylvania, it’s a dream come true, said Michael Shaw, team manager. The Glenmoore Eagle Little League team defeated Lackawanna County’s Abington Little League team in the state tournament, on the road to capturing the state championship and then Mid-Atlantic title.
“It's a lifetime experience for the kids,” said Shaw, whose son, Justin, plays for the team. “They're having such a blast meeting kids from all over the country and all over the world. And you know, just watching them interact is really fascinating.”
The Mid-Atlantic team’s first game is Thursday at 7 p.m.
