It's much more than a parade. Just ask former Erie Mayor Joyce Savocchio.

As Savocchio sees it, the Perry 200 Commemoration -- a two-year celebration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and Erie's role in the Battle of Lake Erie -- is about celebrating Erie's historic past and "building community unity and community pride" around a multitude of events.

"We spent probably months if not a full year (planning). ... The question was, 'What is it that we really want to do here?'" said Savocchio, general chairwoman of the commemoration's planning commission.

"We knew it had to be a series of things with a theme and a purpose behind it," Savocchio continued. "One of the missions was to make people aware of the significance and the wonderful historic legacy of Erie. But it went beyond that. We are a wonderful community that has tremendous assets. We want to celebrate that as well."

The Perry celebration's Grand Patriotic Parade, scheduled for May 25, is one of its centerpiece events.

The parade, like all of Perry 200's events, will celebrate Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's legacy and connection to Erie, a city that made significant contributions to the War of 1812.

Perry's fleet -- including the U.S. Brig Niagara -- was built in Erie. Those Erie-built ships were part of Perry's U.S. naval victory over the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, in September 1813.

"The greatness wasn't just the victory, it was the building of the fleet here over great odds," William Garvey, president of the Jefferson Educational Society, has said.

The Perry 200 parade is expected to include military and marching bands, veterans, floats depicting Erie history, dancers, ethnic groups, large balloons of cartoon characters, clowns, antique cars and much more.

Many elected officials are also expected to be on hand, including Gov. Tom Corbett, the parade's grand marshal.

The parade route stretches nearly two miles, beginning at West 12th and Liberty streets and heading east to State Street, then heading north on State Street and ending near Third Street.

"We're expecting about 100,000 people to view this parade along the route," said Michael Fuhrman, the project manager for Destination Erie, which is a three-year project to develop a master plan for the Erie region. Destination Erie coincides with the Perry 200 events.

Fuhrman said that kind of turnout would make for the largest parade in Erie's history.

"This is celebrating those things that have shaped our history. It builds goodwill, it brings people together," Fuhrman said. I think this is going to be pretty spectacular."

Perry 200 events that took place during 2012 included lectures, concerts, a picnic, museum exhibits and a special day sail aboard the Niagara.

In addition to the Perry 200 parade, events planned for 2013 include a massive fireworks display and a tall ships festival.

The Perry 200 "Erie History in the Classroom" project will also continue. The program, which features "Oliver" the robot, helps teach Erie second-graders about history, including the War of 1812.

Students at Central Career and Technical School's Microsoft IT Academy programmed the robot, named after Oliver Hazard Perry.

"That program focuses on Erie, and it focuses on the building of (Perry's) fleet," Savocchio said. "It has been absolutely wonderful."

View the original article here: http://www.goerie.com/article/20130217/ERIE2013/302179942/Perry-200%3A-celebrating-history-in-%22a-wonderful-community%22