Strawberry Festival Grand Floats Parade winds through Humboldt
HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — Thousands of people packed downtown Humboldt on Friday for the Grand Floats Parade at the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival.
Floats, beauty queens and marching bands rolled down Main Street.
“It’s usually very, very exciting and long and enjoyable,” Linda Orloski, of Humboldt, said.
Orloski started coming to the parade 35 years ago when she moved to Humboldt. She stakes out a spot along the parade route about two weeks in advance. “I just try to get a shady spot or in general up this way,” Orloski said.
Organizers said nearly 200 cars participated in the parade. “We say it’s the granddaddy of them all,” West Tennessee Strawberry Festival President Melissa Swingler said.
The Grand Floats Parade is the biggest event at the festival. “Everybody’s excited,” West Tennessee Strawberry Festival General Chairman Chelsea Caraway said. “It’s kind of like when you’re a kid at Christmas. That’s how it feels in Humboldt on Strawberry Festival week.”
Gibson County schools closed. Kids lined the street. “I like the floats and all the people on it,” 10-year-old Reese Goble said.
Don’t forget the food. Vendors like Snack Shack BBQ feed people along the route. “The cheesy loaded fries, BBQ nachos with pulled pork,” Valerie Ross, a vendor, said. “We’re having the Snack Shack burger, BBQ ribs.”
Organizers said the parade has been around since 1934 when the festival first started.
The West Tennessee Strawberry Festival wraps up Saturday.
