(WSB photo from last year’s Grand Parade; Stuff the Bus, by the way, will be on 7/22 this year)
First came the warning the West Seattle Grand Parade was in danger of cancellation without sponsors/donations to cover costs including the road-closure barricades that the city used to bankroll – then came word that enough people stepped up, it looked like the parade was saved – and today, parade co-coordinator Dave Vague sends official final word it’s on for July 21st, along with thanks to donors and sponsors old and new:

Thanks to the spectacular generosity of the West Seattle and Greater Seattle communities we have donations enough to now hold the parade as scheduled on Saturday, July 21, 2012 at 11:00 AM! Inquiries and support came from all over Seattle and even as far away as Chicago.

In addition to the individual donations made by many of you we have three great organizations sponsoring the American Legion’s West Seattle Grand Parade this year:

Our returning sponsor from last year – the West Seattle Y, and two new great sponsors this year – Sound Advertising Group and International Parking Management! A huge thank you for all of your participation, we really can’t do it without you.

Along with the parade rolling forward, we can now also reveal something new this year – the Float Dodger 5K run that will take place up and down the parade route just before the parade. Clowns, pirates, princesses and now sweaty runners! What a day this will be!

We’ve mentioned the new Float Dodger 5K before – but if you haven’t signed up yet, this is a great time to go ahead and jump in – you can do it here or in person at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor). P.S. Sound Advertising Group, if you don’t recognize the name, is the business that’s currently in The Junction’s former Petco storefront.