The Wake County Council of Veterans made the decision to cancel the North Carolina Veterans Day Parade for the second year in a row.

Parade organizers said the rules were too strict to meet deadlines on time.

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“It’s a disappointment,” Richard Spyrison with the Wake County Council of Veterans said.

Organizers canceled the parade in 2023 after the city released new parade guidelines in the wake of the death of 11-year-old Hailey Brooks, who died when an out-of-control truck carrying a parade float hit her.

The most notable guideline was banning motorized vehicles in a parade, something veterans opposed because some had limited mobility. In 2023, Spyrison told WRAL News several veterans wouldn’t walk down Fayetteville Street.

In July, the City Council adopted a new policy allowing motorized vehicles in the Raleigh Christmas Parade and other events. The policy included new age requirements for drivers and safety vehicle inspections within 30 days of the event.

The new policy prohibits anyone in the parade from "throwing, tossing, or launching any objects into the crowd." No candy, beads or prizes are allowed to be thrown or distributed in the parade or along the route.

Spyrison said that there were just too many restrictions for them.

“A lot of them sound reasonable, but some just got so overwhelming that we figured, ‘How can we implement this? Can we do it in time?’’ Spyrison said.

The Council of Veterans in 2023 still held a ceremony in front of the state capitol building with a band in place of a parade. WRAL News reached out to the City of Raleigh, who provided this statement from a spokesperson:

"Organizers of the Veterans Day Parade were included in the process when we set our parade guidelines earlier this year. We also met with them multiple times in recent months. We can’t speak for them as to why they chose not to have a parade, but we can tell you our top priority is and always will be the health, safety, and welfare of our community for these events."

The Council of Veterans will hold a ceremony outside the Capitol Building again at 11 a.m. on Nov. 9, and organizers said they have more reason to make it bigger and better.