BOSTON – The duck boats are ready and the City of Boston will celebrate the 18th championship in Celtics history with a rolling rally on Friday.
When is the Celtics parade?
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced that a rolling rally will be held Friday in the city.
Boston Duck Tours posted “Cue the ducks” on social media overnight, with the caption “Who’s ready for a parade?”
What is the Celtics parade route?
According to Wu’s office, the parade will begin at 11 a.m. in front of TD Garden.
After turning onto Causeway Street, the duck boats will pass City Hall Plaza and the Boston Common on Tremont Street.
The parade will end on Boylston Street by Hynes Convention Center.
25 duck boats being prepared
The moment the Celtics won their 18th championship, that set into motion an elaborate plan to throw Boston’s favorite kind of party.
“We’re excited, we want the Celts to win of course,” said Boston Duck Tours CEO Cindy Brown. “But then the panic hits in of, oh my gosh, what are the next few days going to be like?”
It’s a pretty awesome problem to have. “After doing 12 parades, we pretty much have the parade part figured out. The tricky part is working with the schedule. We have to cancel all the tours we had for Friday,” she said.
Twenty-five vehicles are being prepared to carry the Celtics and their entourage through the heart of the city. The ceilings will be removed so the notoriously tall athletes can look down onto the crowd.
Boston heat wave impacting parade plans
City officials have an extra challenge planning the latest championship parade in Boston. The Celtics clinched the title as a likely heat wave was set to arrive with potentially record-breaking temperatures in Boston.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its heat risk outlook, with parts of New England categorized in the “extreme” risk area. WBZ-TV executive weather producer Terry Eliasen called this “highly rare” for the region.
Temperatures are expected to be in the mid to upper 90s on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The city’s heat emergency will end Friday, and the latest forecast calls for a cold front to move through the area Thursday night and Friday morning. If the cold front moves in before the parade, temperatures will likely be 10-20 degrees cooler.
Still, the city is planning to have misting towers at City Hall Plaza and Boston Common.
The Celtics’ road to NBA title
The Celtics earned the duck boat parade thanks to a dominant performance throughout the postseason that continued in the NBA Finals.
Boston stormed out to a 3-0 series lead. Dallas earned a dominant Game 4 victory to send the series back to Boston. But Monday night at TD Garden, the Celtics ended things and broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most team NBA titles in history.
Jaylen Brown was awarded the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Value Player award after the game.