Parade to hail end of summer

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

The parade and car show will run the course of the day Saturday.

GIRARD — Summer is coming to an end, and some residents are looking to send the season out with a bang during the second annual Girard End of Summer Parade and car show.

The parade will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday along U.S. Route 422 between Church Hill Road and Liberty Street.

The car show will begin at 3 p.m. near city hall and will likely have events all day, but participants can take a break from those activities to enjoy the parade, then return to the cars. The car show festivities will cap off with “dancing in the street” from 8 to 11 p.m.

Joanne Sura, parade organizer, said community members made the first parade a huge success

“We had a large crowd last year. I mean the streets were lined with people in a way you just would not believe,” she said. “We expect a good turnout this year. We have an even bigger lineup for the parade than we did last year.”

According to Sura, there are about 20 more parade entries in this year’s event and more people are inquiring about participation. There are 62 total entries for the parade.

Sura initially came up with the idea of an end-of-summer parade as a means of bringing back a tradition that vanished in Girard more than 10 years ago. She said the city once had homecoming parades that brought the community together every summer and many have seen the end-of-summer parade as a return to those days.

“Everybody just enjoyed coming out. When the parade last year was coming to an end and the committee’s float was coming through, we actually had people standing and clapping for us and saying thank you,” she said.

“That was a really good feeling. It just brought all those memories back again.”

Sura said all she hopes is the attendees leave with that good, old feeling of family and community that she said can often be missing in a lot of lives today.

“People come with their kids, parents and grandparents, and it doesn’t cost them anything. They just leave with that good feeling. We don’t have very many things now that bring people together like that,” she said.

jgoodwin@vindy.com