ORONO – Several University of Maine athletes will take part in the Heroes Parade Friday in downtown Portland. The ticker-tape parade will begin at 3:30 p.m. and go down Congress Street from Congress Square to Monument Square. The parade will be led by the 65-piece U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty, and will be followed by a rally in Monument Square. UMaine representatives include the mascot Bananas, hockey players Jimmy Howard and Derek Damon, men’s basketball players Chris Markwood and Mark Flavin, and women’s basketball player Ashley Underwood.

The parade is being held to welcome home thousands of Maine soldiers who have or are in the process of coming home from the current conflict in Iraq. In addition to the active servicemen and women in Maine, the event will honor veterans who served in past conflicts as well as heroes from the Police and Fire departments.

The New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, along with a few Patriots’ ambassadors, will join the celebration with the Vince Lombardi Trophy along with comedian Bob Marley.