By Angela Brown

Town of Battleford parade draws crowd

Aug 12, 2017 | 11:36 AM

Under sunny skies, area residents lined the streets of Battleford to show their support for the Town of Battleford’s 34th annual community parade Friday night, cheering on their favourite floats.

The event kicked off at 7 p.m. with many entries decked out in the spirit of Canada 150. The event cap-offed with a fireworks display across from Fort Battleford at dusk.

“It brings the community together,” parks and recreation director Jordan Schechtel said. He was pleased to see the parade come together.

“We don’t have too many summer events, so it’s nice to have something.”  

Nearly 50 entries signed up for this year’s parade – including a number of floats. The parade travelled from St. Vital School’s outdoor track and weaved along the streets before finishing off back at the school.

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“It’s a good number – a little bit up from last year,” said Schechtel of participation.

Town of Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie, City of North Battleford Mayor Ryan Bater as well as Battlefords MLA Herb Cox were some of the dignitaries taking part.

“The Shriners are a big hit,” Schechtel said when asked about highlights of the event. “There are a lot of people who come out for it.”

Schechtel was thrilled to see so many people step up to register in the last couple of weeks, after an initial worry the parade wouldn’t go ahead due to low numbers at the onset. Entries managed to jump from 10 to 50 in the weeks leading up to the parade.  

“I think once people heard we need more, they got it in their heads they needed to get their entries in,” Schechtel said.

The judging for the event took place prior to the parade kick off. First, second and third place winners were selected in a number of different categories, including youth participation, horses on parade, and antique car presentations.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW