INNISFAIL – The sun shone through and helped make the 58th annual Innisfail Rotary Parade another success.
More than 50 floats from Innisfail and area organizations, businesses, churches and clubs filled the streets for the event on June 16.
“There’s lots of entrants, everybody is having fun and they’re getting organized for the 10:30 start time,” said Heather Kirkham, president of the Rotary Club of Innisfail. “The town coordinates the floats and the Rotarians do the judging.”
Floats were judged in several categories, including light horse, heavy horse, clubs, out of town, novelty and others, noted Kirkham.
“It’s really diverse. People do a lot of work on the floats and to get everybody ready for the parade,” she added.
One of the many floats in Saturday’s parade was from a new area clinic, Antler Hill Veterinary Services, operated by Dr. Michael Scheck and Dr. Andrew Ritson-Bennett.
“It’s our first year entering the Innisfail Rotary Parade,” said Ritson-Bennett. “We got first place for the team and wagon category.
“It’s a wonderful day for a parade,” he added.
Amanda Thorsen was with the Parkland Area Girl Guides, an organization that has been a part of the Innisfail Rotary Parade for several years.
The float included about 25 Girl Guides, including those in Sparks, Brownies, Pathfinders and Rangers.
“They look forward to riding on the float in the parade every year,” said Thorsen. “It’s a day to show our spirit and our commitment to the community.”
Entering her third consecutive parade was Tietsia Huyzer, a local dairy farmer from the Innisfail area.
“There’s lots of people here from not only Innisfail, but local, surrounding towns,” said Huyzer. “This is a great way to share about our annual Breakfast on the Dairy Farm, where we teach people about where our milk comes from,” she added, noting the annual event this year on June 23.
Megan Stickland and her Innisfail-area family were at the parade for the sixth straight year.
“My kids love the parade. They love that it’s a small-town parade and that they still get candy,” said Stickland.“We look forward to the parade every year.”
