 
Winner, Write Stuff Contest, What’s Worth Preserving Category
By Barb Owings
There is a myriad of things in the community for people to see and enjoy — beautiful scenery, pleasing weather, a variety of animals, great sunsets, local sites such as museums, old buildings with history, local shops that offer a variety of wares from the magnificent to the mundane, restaurants that serve the finest cuisine to finger-licking BBQ’s, and the opportunity for people who have come from all parts of the country to share in the Southwest lifestyle.
At times, it’s difficult to pick out a specific thing to consider worth preserving, but for the greatest variety, hands down, there’s nothing like a PARADE!
We’ve all heard of the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Pasadena Parade of Roses, the New Orleans Mardi Gras Parade, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Circus Parades in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and the Tractor Parades in small town USA.
Perhaps the parades closer to home are those we turn out to see — Scottsdale’s Parada Del Sol Parade, Cave Creek’s Fiesta Day Parade, Wickenburg’s Parade, Phoenix Light Parade, Anthem’s Military Parades, and the 4th of July Parades.
Parades don’t just happen.
The list is endless. If you’re a member of a group, plans for the next parade are being formulated as soon as the present one is completed. Things like planning a theme, deciding on materials to be used, assembling volunteers, securing a workplace, and contacting participants to ride on your float are of utmost importance.
Permission must be secured by the local city/town for a specific day and route, scripts are written and practiced by commentators along the route, newspapers and/or TV send out their reporters to pictorially capture the event, participants practice their perfect hand waves to the crowds, and candy and flags are often dispensed along the parade route. Parades become organized chaos!
Parades are worthwhile attractions and worth preserving because they seem to bring out the best in people.
Along parade routes, you’ll observe cheering, clapping, flag-waving, whistling, and smiling faces. Creative floats fashioned by various community members dazzle the eyes, baton twirlers keep us holding our breathes with their routines, school bands keep us tapping or clapping to their oompahs, young children wave from floats sponsored by Scouts, schools, and community groups, and even horses and dogs join in the gaiety of a parade. Tourism is boosted by the local economies, and memories are shared with the folks back home, all because of a single parade.
Many times, politicians or well-known figures act as Grand Marshall or ride in vehicles decked out with campaign banners, touching base with their constituents, showing their human side, while passing out campaign information.
The flavor of the community may be seen by participants such as Mountain Men, clad in outfits representing the 1800s, the local dance Studio, American Legion veterans astride horses carrying Old Glory, painted clowns, fancy carriages bedecked with paper flowers of all colors, and local restaurants astride their float, cooking and dispensing scrumptious food. The list goes on — everything goes in a parade to delight the eyes of observers!
Parades bring a community together and often instill in the young a reverence for customs which, hopefully, they will long remember and possibly emulate in the future. But the most valuable thing about parades, and the importance of saving them, is that they provide a free, fun-filled time to get together and to use those words always heard during a parade — I’m proud of my community!
Barb Owings is a past winner of The Peak’s Write Stuff Contest. She lives in Cave Creek.
Photographs: 2014 Cactus Shadows Homecoming Parade, Cave Creek, October 4, 2014
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