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Battleford parade to take off tonight

Jul 15, 2016 | 6:00 AM

The kickoff to summer in Battleford has begun and the community has plans to join for a parade to celebrate tonight.

The annual Battleford Parade has been scheduled for the night of Friday, July 15 and much preparation has gone into making it a success.

Jordan Schechtel, Battleford’s Parks and Recreation Superintendant said several surprises are in store for the audience coming out.

“The route will be different than it was last year,” Schechtel explained.

The route will start at St. Vital School near the athletic track. From that point, the entries will be traveling down the length of 22nd St. before turning at Pennydale’s Restaurant and going on 25th St. From there, the route will turn back to St. Vital’s school grounds.

This year the parade has over 40 entries set to hit the street by sunset. Schechtel said the entries are all very interesting, ranging from businesses to private members. However, the numbers are down from the parade last year, from 49 to 42 which Schechtel said was a normal fluctuation.

“It’s down slightly, but it’s not bad. There are several entries from both communities. There are people with their old cars and there’s even a few horses,” Schechtel said. “It should start at 8 p.m. and finish up somewhere around 9 p.m.”

When asked whether there were going to be any crowd favourites, Schechtel said there was one float he found particularly exciting.

“I’ve only been here for two years,” Schechtel explained, “But I really think the Gold Eagle Casino has a pretty neat float. It has a cannon which shoots confetti and I find that pretty exciting.”

Schechtel also said a barbecue will be held at Centennial Park before the parade commences. Burgers, hot dogs and pop will be available for people to eat while watching the parade.

 

Colleen A.J. Smith is battlefordsNOW’s education, First Nations and arts and culture reporter. She can be reached at colleen.smith@jpbg.ca or tweet her @ColleenAJSmith. Concerns regarding this story can be addressed to News Director Geoff Smith at 306-446-6397.