Jr. Floats Parade rolls through downtown Humboldt
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HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — People packed Main Street in downtown Humboldt on Thursday for the Jr. Floats Parade at the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival. Some spend months preparing for the annual event. “You’d be surprised what a little paint and decorations can do,” Corey Meggs, of Dyer, said. Meggs pulled his daughter, Elise Meggs, 6, in the float they worked on together. “It didn’t look too impressive at first, but once we knew what we was going to build, it took off,” he said. Kids in the parade also compete for a crown. “I’m excited I get to be in the pageant and I don’t care if I win — I’m just glad I get to be in it,” Elise said. Organizers said the annual parade first started in 1934 and is one of the few non-motorized parades still around. “We still stake claim that we are the longest non-motorized parade in the southeast. Nobody’s told us different, so we still think we are,” West Tennessee Strawberry Festival President Terri Crider said. Organizers said the event gets bigger every year. “We like to build floats and we just like to get dressed up and come out and have fun,” said Chloe Patterson of Medina. It is tradition. People like Meggs keep coming back. “When I was in school I was in the band, so I’ve marched in it,” she said. “So there’s history with it, and now I get to introduce my daughter to it.” The annual Grand Floats Parade kicks off at 10 a.m. Friday. The West Tennessee Strawberry Festival runs through Saturday.
