Returning a year after being canceled due the COVID-19 pandemic, the parade saw an estimated 110 groups, up to 2,000 people about about 200 vehicles participating in what might have been the biggest free public event in the city since the pandemic began.
Springfield’s Witney Gounder said she was ready to enjoy the day out with her family and preschool-age kids, dressed in patriotic red, white and blue for the occasion.
“It’s something social and nice for the kids to have a nice day out,” she said. “It really feels like a sense of community.
Carol Suddath, a member of the Exchange Club of Springfield, kept busy prior to the parade passing out American flags. It’s part of the Exchange Club’s national “Project Giveakidaflagtowave.”
The 2021 parade theme was “Thank a Veteran” with Dale Henry, a U.S. Army veteran and former Springfield mayor, as parade grand marshal. The parade began with a rifle salute and the playing of “Taps.”
Military vehicles, horses, people and even a donkey moved along the parade route beginning on North Fountain Avenue, turning left onto West McCreight Avenue and ending at Ferncliff Cemetery.
An Army National Guard member was at the event through FaceTime as his young family awaited the parade’s start. Gavin Allison, 18 months, clung to his mother Brook’s cell phone in one hand as his father Austin, serving with his Guard unit, talked to him virtually. Gavin held a flag given by Suddath in his other hand.
The parade is about sights, sounds and even tastes, all of which the crowd got to experience in a way they hadn’t since before the pandemic. With many people having been vaccinated, health guidelines are loosening as evidenced by most attendees without masks and together.
Diane Van Auker of Springfield had mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety as it is the first time she and husband Terry have gone to a large gathering with others since the pandemic and still felt cautious even amongst friends.
“We’re happy to see others we haven’t really seen in a year but it’s still a little different,” she said.
Sheila Speaks of Springfield felt completely at ease in the environment, riding her bike to the parade and enjoying the cool weather.
“Everybody’s happy. It’s great to see people smiling and actually seeing their faces,” she said.
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