Graduation Car Parade Planned for Rye High Class of 2020

City of Rye School District is planning a 7.3 mile “graduation car parade” across Rye to honor the Class of 2020.

The district is petitioning the Rye City Council to use the city streets on Sunday, May 31, 2020 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm for a graduation car parade to celebrate the Class of 2020. The plans are on the city council agenda for this Wednesday. Once an item like this lands on the agenda, Rye Council approval is almost always procedural.

The planned route starts in the Playland parking lot, then travels past Milton School, Osborn School, Midland School, Rye High School and Middle School and then returns to Playland. You can view the proposed turn-by-turn route below if you want to start to plot your best socially-distanced viewing area.

This is not the first twist and turn for the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020. In the wake of the school bond approval last year, the Rye schools planned to move graduation to the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester so work could begin on the renovation of Nugent Field. Parents freaked out, and two weeks later the school reversed course to hold on Nugent field.

No one planned for a global pandemic.

Here is the parade route:

Gathering Point for Vehicles: Rye Playland Parking Lot
1. Left turn onto Forest Avenue
2. Right turn onto Valleyview Avenue
3. Right turn onto Fairway Avenue
4. Left on Hewlett Avenue
5. PASS MILTON SCHOOL
6. Right on Milton Avenue
7. Left on Oakland Beach Avenue
8. PASS OSBORN SCHOOL
9. Right on Theall Road
10. Right on Playland Access Drive
11. Left onto Playland Parkway
12. Left onto Midland Avenue
13. PASS MIDLAND SCHOOL
14. Left on Grace Church Street
15. Enter Fireman’s Circle
16. Exit Fireman’s Circle onto Milton Avenue
17. Right onto Parsons Street
18. PASS RYE HIGH SCHOOL and RYE MIDDLE SCHOOL
19. Left onto Boston Post Road
20. Left onto Playland Parkway
21. Return to Rye Playland where car parade will end