BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The annual Dyngus Day Parade in Buffalo is set to kick off on Monday evening.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m., check-in will start at 2 p.m. at Memorial Drive and Peckham Street and end at 4. The only vehicles allowed beyond the check-in point will be those participating in the parade.

The parade route itself will begin at Memorial Drive and move west on Broadway, ending at Fillmore Avenue.

“Unlike any other event in recent memory, this parade gathers people together with a sense of camaraderie and joy mixed with nostalgia and hope,” DyngusDay.com says. “An acknowledgment of who they are, where they came from and where they want to go. What started out as a rag-tag group of passionate Poles with a few flags, a couple of pickup trucks and a band on a trailer, has turned into a big splash of Polish pride surfing a sea of red and white.”

There are four categories in which plaques will be awarded by the parade judges:

• Dyngus Day Capital of the World Award
• Best Use of Pussywillows
• Best Use of Red & White
• Tops Best Family Float or Group

Celebrations are taking place throughout Buffalo’s Historic Polonia District on Monday. More information on Dyngus Day can be found here.