Parade the Circle 2026 Guidelines

• Everyone must be in costume, including parents, guardians, and staff accompanying children. 
   
• Entries and costumes must be noncommercial. No identifiable logos are allowed. No T-shirts with words, registered trademarks, logos, or cartoon characters may be worn. Uniforms representing organized teams, troops, or schools or civic organizations may not be worn. 
   
• All entries must be handmade and people powered. Motorized vehicles (other than wheelchairs) and live animals (other than service animals) are not permitted.  
   
• No written words are allowed. 
   
• Entries may not advocate for or against a particular political or religious belief. 
   
• Be inspired by the CMA collection! However, reproducing sacred objects or images and the appropriation* of symbols of other cultures is not allowed. If in doubt, CMA staff are happy to discuss this with you. 
   
• No identifiable flags, symbols, or verbal representations of any country, political party, or religious group are permitted. 
   
• No distribution of leaflets or flyers is allowed during the parade or along the parade route. 
   
• Children under 15 must be accompanied by someone 18 or older. 
   
• The CMA reserves the right to approve all entries and to require participants to change their entries at the CMA’s sole discretion. 

*Appropriation is a term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another. It is in general used to describe Western appropriations of non-Western or non-White forms, and it carries connotations of exploitation and dominance. (Oxford Reference) 

For more information about Parade the Circle or event guidelines, please contact parade@clevelandart.org.