Seattle’s Hometown Airline Becomes Seafair Torchlight Parade Title Sponsor

The Puget Sound area’s largest summertime march will now be named after the region’s hometown airline. Alaska Airlines today announced its title sponsorship of Seafair’s Torchlight Parade.

The two-mile procession, now dubbed the "Alaska Airlines Torchlight Parade at Seafair," will begin July 25 at sundown on Fourth Avenue at Seattle Center and end at Qwest Field.

"With Seattle roots going back more than five decades, Alaska Airlines is honored to be associated with this festival cherished by our community and employees," said Steve Jarvis, vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience.

The largest nighttime parade in the Northwest, the annual event draws 300,000 on-site spectators and an additional 700,000 television viewers.

Celebrating its 60th year, the Alaska Airlines Torchlight Parade at Seafair will be hosted by three celebrity grand marshals and include a kaleidoscope of floats and gigantic helium character balloons along with the wild antics of the Seafair Pirates.

"The Torchlight Parade has such a strong Northwest connection, and Seafair is proud the parade is associated with a company rooted in our region’s history," said Beth Knox, president and CEO of Seafair. "Seafair looks forward to joining with Alaska Airlines to provide the very best in summertime entertainment."

Ads, memorabilia and parade banners carried by employees of Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier Horizon Air will feature the colorful Alaska Airlines insignia.

Seafair is an independent, not-for-profit organization that serves as the premier summertime celebration for the Greater Seattle area. Kicking off July 11 with the Milk Carton Derby and culminating August 1-2 with the high-speed action of the Chevrolet Cup, Seafair is summer in the Northwest! Complete schedule available at seafair.com.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group , together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Traditional Network Carriers (tie)" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Airline Satisfaction Study(SM). For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.

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SOURCE: Alaska Airlines