Cincinnati gears up for massive Opening Day parade and festivities

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - From the parade to the partying to the first pitch, hundreds of thousands of people will pack downtown Cincinnati and The Banks on Thursday.

Lots of preparations lead up to the fire engine horn at noon to start the parade. It is a mammoth event in more ways than one.

For those not gripping a bat, many will be gripping a bottle. So, the bars and restaurants in the area are stocking up.

"It's always fun to think, 'Okay, we're full.' And then, you look uptown and realize the parade is over, and you have thousands of people streaming towards you coming from 5th Street,” said The Banks marketing director Tracy Schwegmann.

She said that the most important thing to remember for people planning on coming downtown and to The Banks is to make a plan.

"Think about where you're going to park before you get on the interstate,” said Schwegmann. “There's lots of options, thousands of spaces beneath The Banks, parking uptown, and taking the streetcar. It's going to be a nice day; you could even walk. People park in Northern Kentucky and come across the bridges.”

She also said that plans should include a crowd safety element, like a meeting place if you get separated from your group, especially from your kids.

“This place is going to be rocking," said Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge.

She said that the most important thing to bring with you is your patience. The chief said that the police department began planning for this year the day after last year's Opening Day.

"You'll see lots of uniformed officers down here,” said Theetge. “We'll have some resources down here that you're not going to see, and that's by design, so, you know, we do everything we can to keep the public safe.”

“So, what are you doing to keep some maniac from mowing down the crowd?” Local 12 said.

“Yeah, so our special events unit, this is a skill set that they have that is just beyond approach from other agencies,” said Theetge. “So, they will use mechanical devices, you know, such as barricades and the meridians. You see it at all the big sporting events. They'll be using those. We'll have some of our dogs. Our bomb dogs will be down here sweeping the area for safety."

“Harry Larkin,” said Cody Hefner with the Cincinnati Museum Center. “What more iconic name could you have for this guy?”

Hefner was referring to a massive mammoth replica sitting atop the Museum Center’s float for the parade. The one-ton woolly mammoth may be a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

“It's a big undertaking to get it on the trailer and get it moving. So, this is, if you want to see it, this is probably the year to do it because I can't guarantee you all are seeing it in the parade again.”

Local 12, of course, had to question its authenticity—a woolly mammoth with a mustache and red stockings?

“They could have had a mustache," said Hefner. “We just don't have the record of it. And the photographs at the time, they were very grainy, so inconclusive.”

Also prepping for Opening Day, the Reds Hall of Fame at Great American Ballpark. They cut a ribbon on Wednesday at a new exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Big Red Machine, including Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey, and the rest of the team that won back-to-back World Series.

Perhaps we'll get things started in that direction on Thursday. The first pitch is at 4:10 p.m. against the Giants.