PEACH FESTIVAL GRAND PARADE

Saturday, August 8, 2009

PENTICTON, B.C. CANADA

Many thanks go out to our Royalty for the Penticton Peachfest Parade and our banner carriers:

    Penticton 2008-2009 Royalty: Queen Neetu Garcha, Princess Catherine Beaumier-Martin and Princess Kaley Wells

by Carol Kapua:
 

Tom, Linda H. and I went to Penticton on Friday for a 10am parade. My room was right under the people from hell. 4am was not good.

Yes, the float can be set up and taken down by 3 people. It may take longer but we were able to do this. We had the 2008-9 Penticton Royalty on our float and they did a great job and had a wonderful time. We got 1st Place in Communities 25,000-50,000.  It was hot. After the parade we loaded up fixed ourselves something to eat and headed for Omak.

We crossed the border at Osoyoos and got pulled over to open up the trailer as well as the rest of the floats that crossed the border. We saw some beautiful country as well as the people in both locations. The crowds were wonderful. We got applause all the way through. Linda really had the Shriners going.

We arrived in Omak about 4-4:30 and had decided to set up the float because we were tired and wanted to sleep in....which I really did. So it was a good thing. The Omak Chronicle let us use their parking lot and we have been invited back there again. At this parade we were joined by Richard and Judy, Joseph, and three of their friends and they all walked and helped put the float away and then we were treated to a lunch at the Elks.

Tom, Linda and I left and started for home. Just before we got to Wenatchee Linda left us. We made good time until just before Gold Bar and just after the 2nd light at Sultan. We lost an hour and half there.

Got home and unloaded and then I took Tom to Federal Way because hopefully he caught a flight out first thing this morning.

Would I do these parades again...Yes. Would like at least one more person to go. The drive is beautiful and the roads are really good. The people are so nice and I know that we will see them again here.

The first hotel furnished clean BBQs and that was great. The second one we had to use our own. It was all good.

This coming weekend is Astoria and we will be leaving at 10am from the caboose. For those of you that know where I live and are riding in the van meet at my house at 9:30 so that we can load the van. We will make a stop on the way, have a sandwich, potty break and stretch our legs and arms.

If you have any questions please call me.

We may be canceling the parade in Monroe in order to finish cleaning out the caboose. Please kokua.

In Omak we had 3 very nice young ladies that are rodeo riders, ride on our float for the first time abd they did a great job. Tom took lots of pictures and we left the trophy with them. They were excited and we have no place to store them for now. We took first place again in communities 25,000-50,000... not bad for one weekend. 

by Tom Grady:
 

At Penticton, I was not expecting the City to be so much of a party/resort area. The hotel guests literally kept us up until 4am! This venue is a very scenic one. The parade spectators were probably some of the most polite ones I have ever met.

We made some very good contacts for our parade content on this trip... I wish we had more time up here.