Several hundred people braved windy weather to cheer on a celebratory group of floats in the Fourth of July parade in Port Angeles.
Further west, there was a bit of rain on the Forks Old Fashioned Fourth parade — but it didn’t put a damper on spirits.
The Port Angeles parade kicked off with the Coast Guard Color Guard and a flyover by the helicopter from the Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles.
The parade, sponsored by Kitsap Bank, was the largest-ever for the city and included about 93 floats, said Russ Veenema, executive director of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.
As far as the crowd, an estimate on numbers wasn’t readily available.
Parade watchers started to line Lincoln and First streets by about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, about a half hour before the parade started.
An estimate of the crowd’s size wasn’t available early Sunday, evening, but it was “a little lighter than usual,” said Veenema.
“I think that the wind scared some of them away, but all in all it is a good group.”
Many of the vendors at City Pier had to break down early when wind speed exceeded 30 mph and started tipping tents over, but some were still braving it until just before the parade started.
Forks parade
In Forks, it was a bit of rain SEmD a common occurrence for that city.
“Of course, this is Forks and it rained on our parade,” said Pat Soderlind, who is a member of the committee that organizes that event.
“A fun time was had by all — it was a really wonderful event.”
In addition to Grand Marshal Helen Thomas, who with her husband owned the old Pay & Save in Forks, a visiting couple was also selected to be honored.
The couple, whose names were not available on Sunday night, were on their honeymoon visiting from Australia.
“They were a lovely couple and we were so glad they spent their honeymoon with us,” Soderlind said.
“We also had a lot of Twilight fans — they were so excited that there was something else fun to celebrate.
“It didn’t rain sideways, but it did rain, but they didn’t really seem to mind.
“The rain didn’t put a damper on things here.”
In Port Angeles, the sky was cloudy all day until just before the parade.
Port Angeles grand marshal
Grand Marshal Jim Hallett, former mayor and president of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he was glad to represent the town — but didn’t quite believe Kitsap Bank representatives when they asked him to play the part.
“They called and asked if I wanted to help out — so I, of course, said yes,” he said.
“Then they told me what they wanted me to do and I said, ‘No, really, what do you really want me to do?'”
His abundance of Port Angeles activities got him the spot.
In addition to Hallett’s float, White Crane Martial Arts dazzled with cute kids doing some of the things they’ve learned at the school, and the Victoria Police Pipe Band from British Columbia also showed off its skills.
Jerene Broker and her four children and husband, Brody, of Sequim came to enjoy the parade.
“We always love it,” Broker said.
“The kids especially have been excited all day about it.”
Mary Beavers of Port Angeles said she has attended the parade for as long as she can remember.
Beavers, whose parents own Unique Treasures Mall on First Street, said she brought her dog Pearl to enjoy meeting other people — and other dogs.
“It is really a lot of fun to see all the other businesses in town and everything that is going on,” she said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
