In Mount Pulaski, the fall-ish feel in the air seemed to put
people in the mood to pull on their sweatshirts and gather together
for the annual Fall Festival Parade.
According to one Mount Pulaskian this was the year when the
community had to overcome some issues to pull off a successful
festival. As a life-timer, she was very proud to share that they had
done just that. First a boil order that began on Thursday and lasted
into the early morning hours of Saturday was difficult for area
eateries as well as residents, but everyone coped.
An emergency caused the carnival to cancel at the last minute, which
was a serious problem, but once again, Mount Pulaski rallied,
bringing in inflatable games and other neat things to make up the
difference.
As the one o'clock hour approached, friends and families gathered on
the north side of the Mount Pulaski Courthouse lining the streets
with chairs and taking seats on the raised sidewalks to see the
annual parade. Food vendors were busy selling the warm products such
as the walking tacos, fresh-made donuts, and of course, corndogs.
The local girl scouts were selling fabulous gift baskets in the
hopes of raising enough money for the group to make a trip to
Savannah, Georgia. The trip is so that they may visit the home of
the original Girl Scout founder, Julia Gordon Low.
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Children were gathering on the edge of the street, some wearing
their coats and boots, others wearing blankets like Superman capes,
but all well prepared with their bags in hand for candy-snatching
when the parade would come.
When the parade arrived, those children were blessed in abundance as every float
and other entry pelted the streets with sweet treats.
The parade featured some really great entries this year. The American Legion and
the VFW were the early entries in the parade. After the playing of the National
Anthem, the parade officially began. For those who love a parade, of course it
ended to soon, but there were dozens of cars, trucks, fire trucks, floats,
tractors, and of course, the Mount Pulaski High School Band.
When the parade descended the hill, folks on the downtown Square began splitting
up into groups, returning to food booths, checking out the inflatables, and
moving on to the Mount Pulaski Courthouse for the annual quilt show.
[Nila Smith] |