Less than twelve hours till the West Seattle Grand Parade, presented by American Legion Post 160, and tonight we’ve heard from two of the new participants – Above, Patrick from Sustainable West Seattle shared a shot of SWS and Alki Bike and Board crews “putting the finishing touches on Trikeceratops, our human & solar powered float for the Grand Parade.” And Debbie Stern e-mailed to say her daughter Becca Stern, a student at Madison Middle School, is “so excited to get to march in front of her home town”:

Becca (center, in red poncho) is captain of the Li’l Señoritas, the younger squad affiliated with La Señoritas, drill teams that are marching in the West Seattle Grand Parade for the first time. (Debbie notes that unlike La Señoritas, Li’l Señoritas do NOT have sabers!)

If you missed our earlier parade previews – scroll down this page for our entire (newest-to-oldest) WS Grand Parade coverage archive; the parade starts at 11 am from California/Lander and proceeds southbound on California to Edmunds at the south end of The Junction. The road closes a couple hours ahead of time, and side streets in the Admiral area on both sides of California are staging areas, so note that even if you are not going to see the parade, cars and buses will be affected till early afternoon. We’ll be out in the staging areas with advance coverage here on WSB tomorrow morning, and of course full coverage afterward.

P.S. Two more notes – we’re reminded that the motorcycle drill teams roll as early as 10:30, so don’t wait till the last minute to get your parade spot along California. Plus, the Kiddie Parade from Calif/Genesee gathers at 10, and if you’re anywhere near there, $3 gets you a hot dog or veggie dog from Furry Faces Foundation‘s Dogs 4 Cats at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor, and parade participant, 4410 California SW), 11 am-1 pm.

(2009 WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
At this time tomorrow, 77 entries will be getting into place for the 2011 edition of the West Seattle Grand Parade, presented by American Legion Post 160. The post’s Junction headquarters are where parade coordinators gather to rough out the lineup – we sat in on that meeting this past Monday night. But after two hours of intensive discussion – with parade co-coordinator Dave Vague using his Father’s Day gift iPad, and parade co-coordinator Jim Edwards checking a table full of the actual entries, while Doreen Vague handled logistics regarding judging – the final plan still had some tweaking to be done, before one last meeting last night. The lineup includes:

*2 motorcycle drill teams (this is the only local parade where you see the Vancouver, B.C. team too – they’re in the top photo)
*More than half a dozen floats, including West Seattle Hi-Yu‘s “Sparkling Seattle” and visitors from as far away as the Sequim Irrigation Festival float
*4 marching bands, including the famous Calgary Roundup Band, back for the first time in a few years
*More than half a dozen drill teams, including the saber-wielding Las Senoritas
*Community entries including a few new ones, such as Sustainable West Seattle, and longtime participants including schools, churches, Scouts, community groups
*Commercial entries including Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor)
*The full Seafair contingent, including their new (as of last year) float and, of course, the Pirates
*As announced here earlier: 2011 Grand Marshals Art and Gloria Peters, and 2011 Orville Rummel Trophy winner Cindi Barker

The parade starts at 11 am Saturday from California/Lander and travels down California till the route ends at Edmunds on the south end of The Junction (here’s the map on the parade’s official website). Side streets along California at the north end of the route are part of the staging area, so in the early morning hours tomorrow, you’re going to want to steer clear of there. Kids are invited to join in the West Seattle Rotary Kiddie Parade gathering at 10 am at California/Genesee (more here). And remember, the parade’s not over till you see the tow trucks! (They’re entry #77.)

The “no parking” signs are up, looking ahead to Saturday, when the American Legion Post 160-presented West Seattle Grand Parade will not only close California from Admiral to Edmunds (the parade starts a block south of Admiral, at Lander), but also will restrict parking on that stretch and some side streets near the start of the parade route, starting at 7 am. There’s one big difference this year – Post 160 had to pay thousands of dollars for signage that the city used to handle, so community sponsors have pitched in, and you’ll see them acknowledged in big new banners. But otherwise, parade coordinators told us at the official pre-parade lineup meeting (that’ll be a separate preview story!) that the restrictions are pretty much the same as in years past, and if your street is affected, the signs are now in place (the one in our photo is at the start of the route by Lafayette Elementary). The pre-parade staging also is minus the former back parking lot of Admiral Safeway, but some of the vehicles that used to queue up there, like convertibles with Hi-Yu Senior Court candidates, aren’t a factor this year since the competition has moved to the fall (you’ll still see current royalty on the Hi-Yu “Sparkling Seattle” float). So who IS in the parade, you ask? Some old favorites, and new additions – more on that tomorrow! It all starts at 11 am Saturday, southbound on California from Lander to Edmunds (here’s the map),

Tonight, you’ll find Cindi Barker at the quarterly meeting of the Morgan Community Association, in her role as information coordinator. Like many leadership positions in neighborhood councils, it’s an unsung-hero role – no glamour, no glory, no pay, lots of hard work. But last night, as much as she shies from the limelight anyway, Cindi was in it for a brief moment at intermission of the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park, as West Seattle Grand Parade co-coordinator Dave Vague (above left) presented her with the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community, which she’ll carry in Saturday’s parade:

We wrote about the award’s history last year, after WSB was announced as its 2010 recipient. Parade-hosting American Legion Post 160 has presented it each year since 1984, a half-century after its namesake, then-Post Commander Orville Rummel, founded in 1934 what was originally called the Hi-Yu Parade.

Cindi works as a manager in Boeing’s 777 program, and spends copious hours of her “free time” in community volunteer work. Perhaps her most visible current role is with West Seattle Be Prepared, the groundbreaking neighborhood-preparedness effort that for the past three-plus years has set the bar for other parts of the city, setting up volunteer-led “neighborhood hubs” that will help coordinate communication and calls for help if the unthinkable ever happens. Below, Cindi is at left with Sharonn Meeks during a “hub” drill last fall:

Cindi’s history as a volunteer in community service goes back more than a quarter-century, including advisory committees such as the citywide Parks Levy Oversight Committee and the local Southwest Precinct Advisory Committee, neighborhood-planning roles with the City Neighborhood Council as well as MoCA – a long list of committees and roles with detail-oriented work whose results will last for years – the roll-up-your-sleeves-and-dig-into-the-details work that is particularly unglamorous, since you can’t point to a specific project and say “I did that!” (not that Cindi would anyway). She also has worked with youth, mentoring the Robotics Club at Chief Sealth International High School for several years. And she helped found Boeing Women in Leadership almost a decade ago.

After she accepted the award last night, we asked for her reaction. “Very cool!” she said – then quickly adding, “Nothing happens without everyone else” – in other words, no matter what you’re coordinating or leading, you can’t do it unless there are others to pitch in. Exactly what you would expect to hear from Cindi, whom we first met when WSB began to focus on community news more than four years ago. She’s practical but also resolutely cheery, no matter how tough the task. So look for her winning smile toward the start of the parade route (California SW from Lander to Edmunds) on Saturday morning, starting at 11 am, and give her a cheer. The unsung heroes have so few chances to receive one. She’s been in the parade before – appropriately enough, with an entry honoring volunteers.

After the jump – the full list of Orville Rummel Trophy winners, from 1984 through Cindi:Read More

Another big weekend ahead, rain or shine – including the West Seattle Grand Parade‘s 2011 edition, presented by American Legion Post 160, Saturday (July 23) at 11 am, from California/Lander to California/Edmunds. We’ll be previewing it all week long, starting this morning with parade organizers’ announcement of two of the special honorees you’ll see toward the start of the parade – the Grand Marshals, Art and Gloria Peters:

(2007 West Seattle Grand Parade photo by Creighton)
Art and Gloria have been parade favorites for close to a decade now – a long-married couple who are U.S. Navy veterans from World War II and the Korean War. We talked to them along the pre-parade sidelines three years ago. Adding three years to what they told us then, they’ve been married for 64 years, and the longevity of their union is what their parade vehicle usually pays homage to, “Art and Gloria, still married” (as seen here). Cheer them on – along with the 70-plus other entries/participants – this Saturday, all along this route, following the West Seattle Rotary Kiddie Parade at 10 am on a shorter route southbound from California/Genesee (all kids invited to join in, more info here).

(WSB photo from July 2009 parade)
Hours before one of the major events that American Legion Post 160 sponsors/co-sponsors each year – the Memorial Day service at Forest Lawn (WSB sponsor), 2 pm – there’s good news about another one, the West Seattle Grand Parade. Because of city budget cuts and changes, Post 160 has to pay the estimated $3,000 bill to block off California SW, as reported here in February; the parade has no entry fees, so Post 160 asked for donations to make sure the parade could go on. In April, they added a link for online donations. And this morning, Post 160’s Dave Vague sends word they have reached the goal:

You did it, West Seattle! Thanks to the sponsorships and donations by our generous West Seattle community, the West Seattle American Legion Post 160 will be hosting the 78th annual Grand Parade on Saturday, July 23, 2011, at 11:00. Thank you so very much West Seattle Blog for getting our message out, and to all of your readers for their support! We could not have done this without the generous support from the following:

*West Seattle Christian Church
*West Seattle YMCA
*Illusions Hair Design
*Ventana Construction
*Luna Park Cafe
*Ivars Inc
*PCC Natural Markets
*34th District Democrats
*Sheila Boyer
*Kiersten Lovejoy
*Jennifer Hedge
*Julie Gramm
*Dorothy H Wickland
*Explorer West Middle School
*West Seattle Blog

Thanks to all for helping to continue with this cherished community event. More news about the event will follow as we get closer to the parade date.

(The Y, Illusions, Ventana, and PCC are also WSB sponsors.) If this is your first summer in West Seattle, the parade runs from California/Lander in the Admiral District to California/Edmunds in The Junction (here’s a map). It’s preceded by the Kiddies Parade, sponsored by the Rotary Club of West Seattle.

(2010 West Seattle Grand Parade photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Is it worth at least a few dollars to you to save a West Seattle tradition?

Two months ago, the volunteers who run the West Seattle American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade sent up the first warning signal (WSB story here) that they will need financial help to bring back the decades-old tradition this year: Thousands of dollars worth of help that used to be provided by the city, to block off a mile-plus of California SW for the parade, is now something Post 160 is supposed to pay for. And since the parade does not charge entry fees – if it did, it would have to pay an even bigger bill for a costlier permit – that means a call for sponsors/donations.

In that February report, parade chair Dave Vague asked for ideas of how to raise the money. WSB commenter Jordan suggested using PayPal for donations. That’s now been set up – to take donations large and small.

Here is the webpage where you will find the donation link.

(Note that while the parade is NOT a West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival event, Hi-Yu has agreed to lend the Grand Parade its PayPal setup, so that’s what your receipt will reflect.)

Vague tells WSB they need to raise $4,000. As first noted in the February report, the road-closure barricades will cost $3,000. The parade permit will cost $500 (if they charged entry fees, it would be $2,000 more!). And they would like to have a bit of pad beyond that for potential expenses such as sign damage and a banner if major donors/sponsors emerge.

Speaking of that, they would still welcome sponsors – you can reach Vague through Post 160 at (206) 935-9407, or e-mail him: vagued@comcast.net.

Three months till this year’s parade (July 23) – provided the money can be found. Here’s the donation-page link again. You don’t have to have a PayPal account – you can use any major credit card.

P.S. The parade now has a Facebook page, too – “like” it here.

(WSB photo from 2010 West Seattle Grand Parade, by Christopher Boffoli)
Yet another city-budget shock wave is rippling tonight – this time, one that casts a cloud over a decades-old West Seattle summertime tradition.

American Legion Post 160, longtime sponsor of the midsummer West Seattle Grand Parade, has just started planning for this year’s parade, set for July 23rd, and has learned it’s facing a big new bill – not unlike the local youth-sports leagues that are suddenly paying thousands more than they used to.

Last year, we reported on the close call American Legion Post 160 and other summertime event sponsors had with a city “cost-recovery” proposal – at one point in May, it looked like events happening just weeks later might have to pay for their own traffic control, which the city has always picked up, and that could have cost the West Seattle Grand Parade $1,500 it didn’t have.

Given the short notice and big protests from other affected groups, the city decided to pull back for last year, while issuing a warning about this year’s budget. So now, it’s 2011. Post 160’s parade chair Dave Vague tells WSB, “Although the city has not changed its fee schedule for the parade, the Seattle DOT is now requiring us to handle all of our own No Parking signs. I asked one of the barricade companies for a bid and it is going to cost us $3,000 to put up all of the signs. Needless to say, this is too large a burden for the American Legion to take on by themselves now.”

The “no fee-schedule change” to which Vague refers cuts both ways. As explained in our story last year, while the obvious solution would seem to be for Post 160 to charge entry fees for commercial participants, they can’t; parades that charge entry fees are charged sharply higher permit fees. Right now, so that their permit fees stay low, there’s no fee for anyone to enter (though some donations are received).

So how to handle the $3,000? Vague says, Post 160 is turning to you for ideas and support:

We are looking to the West Seattle Community to help us raise the necessary funds for the parade or help us find a sponsor or sponsors to help us with the cost. If your readers would like to donate or have ideas on how we could raise the funds needed, they can contact the American Legion at (206) 935-9407 or write me at vagued@comcast.net.

(WSB photo from 2010 West Seattle Grand Parade, by Mindon Win)
As longtime fans of the West Seattle Grand Parade, and co-sponsor of multiple community events each year since we became a business, we have already said (as we did last year) that WSB will be first in line to be a sponsor if Post 160 decides to go that route. What’s your thought about the best solution? Let Post 160 know, and/or post a comment here.

Before the 75-plus entries in today’s two-hour West Seattle Grand Parade rolled, roared, marched, glid and strolled down the route, they gathered at/around the starting line, which is California/Lander – unpacking, arranging, in some cases, even posing for photos (particularly the most famous of the entries, like JP Patches). On assignment for WSB, Edgar Riebe of West Seattle-based Captive Eye Media roamed around behind the scenes in the pre-parade hours – the video above is the result! ADDED EARLY SUNDAY: And from inside our electric car as the parade began, here’s the first minute (shot by WSB editor TR) as we got the go-ahead to start rolling:

One thing we noticed, riding in a vehicle for the first time – people yelled and waved as they saw the signs on the side of the car, not the banner on the front (so the audio you hear doesn’t synch with the video – we had the camera pointed forward most of that minute). Thanks again to everyone who came out to see the parade; our coverage – before, during, after – is in the WSB West Seattle Grand Parade archive, newest to oldest.

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – Daffodil Festival wins 2 categories)
We will continue adding photos/video to this progressively – but in case anybody’s waiting eagerly for the info, West Seattle Grand Parade co-coordinator Dave Vague just sent the list of judges’ picks from today’s parade:

(WSB video by Tracy Record – All-City Band, overall #2, marching band #1)

Overall Winners
1st Place __Daffodil Festival “Carousel of Spring”
2nd Place __Electronettes Jasslyn Diva’s Drill Team & Drum Squad
3rd Place __Seattle Schools All-City Marching Band

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – Vancouver, B.C., PD, 1st place, motorcycles)

Motorcycles
1st Place __Vancouver Police Motorcycle Drill Team

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – All-City Band, overall #2, marching band #1)

(Photo by Steve Mohundro – PNW Drumline, 2nd place, marching bands)

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – JFK HS, 3rd place, marching bands)

Marching Bands
1st Place __Seattle Schools All-City Marching Band
2nd Place __Pacific NW Drumline
3rd Place __Kennedy Catholic High School Marching Band

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – Seafair Clowns, 1st place, clowns/comics)

Clowns & Comics
1st Place __Seattle Seafair Clowns
2nd Place ___Ronald McDonald
3rd Place ___Keystone Kops

(Photo by Steve Mohundro – Lake City Western Vigilantes, performing acts, #1)

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – Seafair Pirates, performing acts, #2)

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – Evergreen Tang Soo Do, performing acts, #3)

Performing Acts
1st Place ____Lake City Vigilantes
2nd Place ____Seattle Seafair Pirates
3rd Place ____Evergreen Tang Soo Do

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – Sweet Mahogany, junior drill teams, #1)

Drill Teams – Jr. & Cheer Squads
1st Place _____Sweet Mahogany Drill Team
2nd Place ____Electronettes Pretty Girls Drill Team
3rd Place ____Super Steppers Marching Team

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – Electronettes JDs, senior drill teams, #1)

Drill Teams – Sr.
1st Place ___Electronettes Jasslyn Diva’s Drill Team & Drum Squad
2nd Place ___Chinese Community Girls Drill Team

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli – JP Patches, commercial, #2)

Commercial
1st Place _____Daystar Retirement Village
2nd Place ____Bill & Cynthia Reid/John L Scott Westwood & JP Patches
3rd Place ____Hadlock’s Towing

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, OLG, community, #1)

Community
1st Place ___Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish & School
2nd Place ___Girl Scouts Chinook Service Unit #550
3rd Place ___WS Friend to Friend Volunteer Program

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli -LRFD, antique cars, #1)

Cars & Antique Cars
1st Place ____Last Resort Fire Department
2nd Place ___Lincoln Towing’s “Pink Toe Truck”
3rd Place ___Senior Center of West Seattle

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli -Marysville float, #2 in its category)

Floats – Motorized
1st Place (Legion Trophy) __Daffodil Festival “Carousel of Spring”
2nd Place (Alki Trophy) ___Marysville Strawberry Festival

(WSB video by Tracy Record)

Floats – Conveyed
1st Place (Festival Trophy)___Holy Rosary West Fest
2nd Place (Marshals Trophy)___ West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club

Dave notes that some regular entrants – Seattle Police and Fire, and West Seattle Hi-Yu – ask to be excluded from the judging (just in case you’re wondering why you don’t see them in the list). More parade coverage to come!

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, substituted 3:17 pm for previous Twitpic by @zenbard)
The streets are reopening – now that the West Seattle Grand Parade is over for another year. We had a blast riding in the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) loaned to us by MC Electric Vehicles (which is on the south side of downtown, by Goodwill) – it’s more traditional to ride in a convertible, but we wanted something electric-powered for the occasion! Got to watch most of the parade since we were the fifth entry out and done before the other 70-plus; will add a few photos shortly, with much more coverage to come a bit later. Our favorite iPhone photo taken just before it began – that’s the U.S. Coast Guard flyover, with the Color Guard and Post 160 Commander Chris Shea in the foreground:

And here’s a closer look at the chopper itself:

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Thanks to everybody who waved and yelled along the way – as the sign on the back of our vehicle read, “Thank YOU for being part of WSB” – !!! (And thanks to parade-presenting American Legion Post 160 for honoring WSB with the Orville Rummel Trophy – from what we learned about the other recipients while researching the story we published this morning, it’s awesome company.)

On California SW by the Admiral Safeway parking lot, Holy Rosary School volunteers were putting flowers on their WestFest entry for the West Seattle Grand Parade, which starts at 11 am. Not far away, this bubble-breathing dragon is getting ready for its star turn – we won’t spoil the surprise by showing you who’s towing it:

We got here just after 9, convoying with the mystery vehicle we’ll ride in the parade – spotted staked-out spots outside ArtsWest in The Junction along the way (and more than a few in other areas, including some whose “owners” were already in place):

Back up here at parade-start central, the Seafair parade marshals – more than 30 of them – are helping American Legion Post 160‘s Grand Parade coordinators get everybody arranged:

One of our later reports will have more behind-the-scenes glimpses; we have photojournalist Edgar Riebe here covering that side of the parade-day story; photojournalist Christopher Boffoli will be along the route to cover the parade itself. See our earlier previews (all archived here) for info on the route and times and some of who you’ll see – the action all starts at 11 am, though the motorcycle drill teams (Seattle followed by Vancouver, B.C.) scheduled to go down the route a bit sooner, so you’ll definitely want to be in place by 10:30; even The Junction, end of the line, will see parading soon after 11, since the Rotary Club of West Seattle-presented Kiddie Parade will travel south from California/Genesee at that point. Not sure if we’ll add more pre-parade pix here – but you can definitely watch our @westseattleblog Twitter feed (even if you’re not a Twitter member) for photos we’ll “tweet” before and during.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

In this morning’s West Seattle Grand Parade, your WSB co-publishers will be proudly carrying the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community, bestowed by parade-sponsoring American Legion Post 160. It’s been awarded annually since 1984:

When parade organizers shared the news, they also observed that aside from the trophy itself, which each recipient gets to keep till the following summer, there wasn’t much written history about it. So we set out to see if we could take a swing at starting to change that.

Orville Rummel founded the parade back in 1934. The photo at left is from a framed, crinkled-but-treasured copy of the front page of what the logo declared to be the “West Seattle Herald Incorporating The West Seattle News,” published at the start of the Hi-Yu Festival, that same year. It hangs on the north wall of the American Legion Post 160 Hall in The Triangle; Rummel was the post’s commander, and chair of the Hi-Yu Committee, in 1934. Unfortunately, he’s not still around to tell his stories; online records show he died in Kitsap County right about Hi-Yu time in 1998 – July 16, to be exact – just a few weeks short of what would have been his 99th birthday.

Back in Orville Rummel’s heyday, the Legion stopped running Hi-Yu after a few years; it resumed as an independent effort in 1949, though Post 160 remains a Hi-Yu trustee.

Ahead, the list of a quarter-century-plus of winners. And then – we check in with two of the longtime West Seattle businesspeople who’ve been honored with the Orville Rummel Trophy.Read More

Just confirmed with the Seattle Seafair Clowns‘ own “Officer Lumpy” – a West Seattleite – that this year’s “Prince of Mirth” will be with them tomorrow in the American Legion Post 160-presented West Seattle Grand Parade. The Prince is a Duke – none other than local restaurateur Duke Moscrip, of Duke’s Chowder House fame. This year, as the Seafair Clowns’ announcement points out, Duke has been a Seafair hero, helping bail out first the hydro races and then the Seafair Pirates’ Landing (WSB coverage here). Last year, TV personality Jim Dever rode with them.

Tomorrow’s parade starts at 11 am from California/Lander in the Admiral District and continues south to California/Edmunds in The Junction. Any and all West Seattle kids are also invited to join in the Rotary Club of West Seattle-presented Kiddie Parade, leaving California/Genesee at 11 ahead of the main parade (with time to get back to your seat!). To see our previous previews – and coverage of previous years – check out the WSB West Seattle Grand Parade coverage archive (in reverse-chronological order).

(WSB photo from July 2008 at California/Lander, where the West Seattle Grand Parade begins)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Everybody loves a parade, it’s been said.

All you have to do is stake out your spot on the route, and it unfolds right in front of you – the honor guard, the bands, the drill teams, the floats, the royalty, the sign-wavers, the clowns … In all, more than 75 entries will travel California SW from the Admiral District to the south end of The Junction tomorrow morning (here’s the map), starting at 11 am, right after the Rotary Club of West Seattle-sponsored Kiddie Parade (all kids can join in!) strolls and rolls down the route from Genesee south.

But the West Seattle Grand Parade doesn’t just happen, much as co-coordinator Jim Edwards would try to have you believe otherwise. “It’s a juggernaut now,” he insists. “It would happen with or without us.”

He commented Monday night during a small but pivotal gathering that happens each year before the parade: The lineup meeting. At American Legion Post 160 in The Triangle – the organization that presents the parade every year (not Hi-Yu, though they’re an important participant every year) – Jim, co-coordinator Dave Vague, and parade chair Walt DeLong took two hours to finalize the parade running order.

Read More

Just two days till the American Legion Post 160-presented West Seattle Grand Parade rolls, marches, dances and glides down California SW from the Admiral District to The Junction. In the video above, we ask this year’s Grand Marshals, radio-turned-webcast personalities Marty Riemer and Jodi Brothers (both West Seattleites), to demonstrate the “parade wave” – and of course, the discussion veers off course. (Hopefully their parade-day convertible won’t.) More than 75 entries are set for the annual tradition, starting at 11 am – just pick a spot along the route, from the north edge of Hiawatha southward:

The purple-blue marker along the route is SW Genesee, starting point for the Rotary Club of West Seattle-presented Kiddie Parade, which all kids are invited to enter – signups start at 10 am Saturday, and the parade proceeds through The Junction right at 11, ahead of the rest of the parade (so there’s time to get back to your seat and watch everybody else!). Still more parade “sneak peeks” ahead between now and Saturday morning.

When you watch the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team during the American Legion Post 160-presented West Seattle Grand Parade this Saturday, here’s something you might not realize: There are West Seattleites on the team! Cynthia shares this photo of Rob Blanco (left) and Drill Master John Bernasconi. As usual, the SPD motorcycles will be at the head of the parade – after the Rotary Club of West Seattle Kiddie Parade, and before the Vancouver, B.C., motorcycle squad – which starts at 11 am this Saturday. The parade route is along California SW from SW Lander (by Lafayette/Safeway) to SW Edmunds (end of the main Junction business district) – note that several side streets are part of the staging areas, with No Parking signs having been up for days now, and some buses will be rerouted that morning and part of the afternoon, too.

(WSB photo from July 2009)
While at American Legion Post 160 in The Triangle last night to sit in on the West Seattle Grand Parade lineup meeting, we were glad to hear that Art and Gloria Peters will be back for another year, riding in the parade. Our “behind the scenes” parade-planning story isn’t ready to publish just yet but there’s certainly still lots more to preview as Saturday’s parade (11 am, California/Lander to California/Edmunds) gets closer. The long-wed veterans are among the heroes, if you will, among the 75-plus parade entries. That category also includes the law-enforcement motorcycle drill teams – both the hometown heroes from Seattle PD, and the visitors from Vancouver, B.C.:

And unless there’s a last-minute emergency, you’ll see a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter like this one fly south over the parade route right around 11:

(July 2009 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Again, the parade starts at 11 am this Saturday – and while the official route is California SW between SW Lander (Lafayette/Safeway) and SW Edmunds (end of The Junction’s main business district), you’ve probably noticed “no parking” signs on more than a few other streets – the parade staging zone, and bus re-routes, cover many more blocks. One more reminder – All kids are welcome in the Rotary Club of West Seattle Kiddie Parade, which travels California SW from SW Genesee to SW Edmunds right before the main parade, starting at 11 am (sign-ups at 10).

Seattle’s most famous clown, JP Patches – who was at the Westwood Village Street Fair in May (where Karen took the above photo) – is scheduled to be in the West Seattle Grand Parade (yes, the one many still call the Hi-Yu Parade) this Saturday (minus pugs). That’s part of what we can tell you after sitting in tonight on the parade-lineup session at American Legion Post 160, which puts on the annual event. Bill and Cynthia Reid from John L. Scott are bringing him to the parade as they’ve done in many years past. The lineup of more than 75 entries includes other traditional favorites – like the Seafair Pirates and Seattle All-City Band – will be there too; and for the first time in at least five years, according to parade co-coordinator Jim Edwards, the Daffodil Festival float will be up from Pierce County (but can it hold a candle to the award-winning West Seattle Hi-Yu float?). New this year: The Pacific Northwest Drumline. And this year, no matter where you are along the parade route (California/Lander to California/Edmunds) at the official 11 am start time, you should see something – the Rotary Club of West Seattle Kiddie Parade is scheduled to start from California/Genesee at 11 (instead of earlier as in years past; by the way, all kids welcome!) – by then, the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team and Vancouver (B.C.) Police Motorcycle Drill Team will be at various points further north on the route, and then the rest of the parade will commence from California/Lander with the color guard right at 11, plus a U.S. Coast Guard flyover scheduled right over the California SW (if no emergencies call the chopper away) parade route. Grand Marshals this year: West Seattle-residing radio/online personalities Marty Riemer and Jodi Brothers. So what does it take for Jim, co-coordinator Dave Vague, and parade chair Walt DeLong to put the parade together? That’s part of our next parade preview tomorrow!