Sunday Parade

The Stoughton Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with our Syttende Mai Festival Volunteer Leads, is pleased to announce that River Bluff Middle School 8th grader Evelyn Olson will join Chamber President Sarah Ebert as co-host of the 2026 Norwegian Parade coverage on WSTO.

This is one of two exciting announcements about this year’s Norwegian Parade. We want to assure the community that WisDOT construction on US-51 will NOT affect the parade. Sarah Ebert and Brett Hebert, Director of Public Works, have been working with WisDOT for years, ahead of this year’s construction, to ensure that all roads into Stoughton will be open for the Syttende Mai Festival.

The construction isn’t hampering this year’s parade, but the route is changing. Citing major safety concerns, Stoughton Law Enforcement and City Officials requested a change to the parade route. Changes to our treasured festival are always carefully considered. The safety of our parade participants and attendees is paramount. Once we could ensure that the quality of the parade and the parade viewing space could be maintained, the decision was made.

Our 2026 Norwegian Parade will debut on the new route. The parade will start as it has for years, at Mandt Park on South 4th Street. As in previous years, the parade will turn left at the corner of South 4th and Main Street and travel through our Historic Downtown. At the corner of Main Street and South Page, the parade will turn left, passing Livsreise, Mandt Lodge, and Stoughton Historical Museum. The parade will end at the corner of South Page Street and West Milwaukee Street.

Our Volunteer Parade Leads have been working hard securing new and returning floats for this year’s parade. We look forward to seeing everyone’s smiling faces lining the parade route. If you aren’t able to attend the parade, you can stream it thanks to WSTO.