PORT TOWNSEND — It didn’t rain on the Rhody Parade on Saturday.
The highlight of the 78th annual Rhododendron Festival celebration finished with only a few drops getting in the way.
“It was a good parade. We got a lot of compliments this year,” said Past President Melanie Bozak.
“The crowd was pretty good,” she added.
“I was happy to see a lot of people along Monroe Street, which we haven’t gotten in years past.”
The two-hour parade began at Lawrence Street and Harrison Street uptown and turned right on Monroe Street and right again on Water Street before ending downtown at Quincy Street.
Ninety-six entries — many of them visiting high school bands and festival floats from other parts of the state — rolled down the street.
During the summer, the Rhody float, which is modeled after Aladdin’s lamp, will return the favor and participate in other regional parades.
Participants ranged from the traditional military-themed floats to the more bizarre, such as the Peninsula Steam float or a group of music-playing aliens called the Intergalactic Cosmic Orbs of Bubble Con.
The parade, always held the day before the weeklong festival ends, “brings a lot of people back to town,” said Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce President Dominic Svornich, who rode the Peninsula Steam float.
“It’s like old home night where there are so many different parts and wonderful components.”
No official crowd estimate was available, though Svornich estimated that about 200 people were on each block during the peak time.
That would mean at least 1,500 spectators attended, Svornich said.
The parade was followed by a cake picnic in Pope Marine Park, billed as one of the festival’s new events.
The awards granted at the parade were Grand Sweepstakes, the Marysville Strawberry Festival; Mayor’s Award, Port Orchard Fathoms of Fun; Governor’s Award, Capitol Lake Fair of Olympia; Queen’s Award, the Forks Old Fashioned Fourth of July; Specialty Drill, Habitat for Humanity; Best Non Motorized, United Good Neighbors; Best Specialized Entry, the New Dungeness Lighthouse; Best Decorated Car, Port Townsend High School alumni.
Schedule today
Still to come today, the final day of the festival, is:
■ Elks Rhody Fundraiser Pancake Breakfast, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., Elks Lodge, , 555 Otto St.
■ Jim Caldwell Memorial Open, 9 a.m. at the Port Townsend Golf Course, 1948 Blaine St.
■ Rhody Run Registration, 9 a.m. at Fort Worden State Park parade grounds.
■ Rhododendron Flower Show, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fort Worden Chapel.
■ Rhody Run Race, 11 a.m. at Fort Worden State Park parade grounds, awards at 1:30 p.m.
■ Kids Sprint will be held prior to the run. Phone 360-385-2200, ext. 2037, for more information.
For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/rhodyfest.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
