The Hillyard Festival Parade

Earlier this month I watched the Hillyard Festival Parade with my daughter and granddaughter. Hillyard is a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington. Long ago it was a separate town, but has been part of Spokane for nearly 100 years. It's a neighborhood with a bad reputation, yet parts of it are quite pleasant.

It was a very warm day, well into the 80s. I'm sure all of the walking participants were sweating long before they reached the end of the parade route. We were watching from a sunny spot and got plenty warm just standing there.

The annual parade contained the usual motley assortment of entries, twenty-two of which I will share in this post, not necessarily in the order they went past. I'll start with a few of the more interesting vehicles.

Classic cars are always a popular parade entry.

This one is "souped up" for sure.

Some kind of hot rod.

A nifty old fire engine.

I'm not sure what group was riding in this old army truck. Maybe the VFW?

This was some ladies' organization, all decked out with fancy boas, ruffles, lace, and parasols.

I was amused by this very-mini-van, which I think is an ice cream "truck."

I really love antique cars. If I had a few thousand dollars lying around with no purpose, I'd buy one.

What's a parade without horses? Everywhere I've lived, a parade includes horses. How about where you live?

The cheerleaders from a local school were cheering their way down the street.

More cheer squad gals, this group with pom-poms.

The Sons of Norway had an impressive Viking-themed entry,bringing to mind my years in Minnesota.

Motorcycles are also a "must" in a local parade.

It's an election year, so plenty of campaign posters went past us. This is just one example. I don't live there, so I know nothing about that particular candidate.

This was the only "band" entry, and it was a rather rag-tag collection of musicians and instruments. Still, it was a band, and it was music.

The Spokane Lilac Festival royalty rode by on a lovely float. I was intrigued by the circular supports around their waists, allowing them to have both hands free and not need to worry about falling over if the float lurched.

Ooh, time for another classic car!

A golf cart advertising a local business.

This was the only clown in the parade, as I recall. I'm not sure what his companions had in the little cart unless it was candy. Many of the parade participants threw candy for the little kids to pick up. Some of us big kids picked some up, too.

The Seabees' entry was nearly as impressive as the Sons of Norway.

This funny little car was being driven backwards all the way up the street. It preceded the very last vehicle in the parade, which is pictured next.

This monster truck ended up being the last thing in the parade, but it didn't start out that way. It was one of the earlier vehicles in the line-up, but it died in the block before it reached us. Onlookers ran out and helped push it to the side of the street, where its operator lifted the hood and went to work. By the time the last of the parade went by, it was running again and became the final item to go past. Hurray for perseverance!

All photos taken on my Android phone.