The judges’ decisions are in! Here are the winners in the judged categories of today’s West Seattle Grand Parade, led again this year by the All-City Band. With a team of four covering the parade this year, we have photos and/or video of all the entries, so we’ll be adding it to each entry on the list in the hours ahead:

Overall Grand Prize Winners

1st Place: Seattle All-City Band

2nd Place: Seattle Seafair Pirates

3rd Place: Holy Rosary School

Community Dance Teams

(Most photos by Oliver Hamlin for WSB)

1st Place: Joyas Mestizas

2nd Place: Lady Bandits Majorette Dance Team

Marching Bands

1st Place: Seattle All-City Band

2nd Place: Kennedy Catholic High School Lancer Marching Band and Color Guard

Performing Acts

1st Place TIE:
Panama Folklore Seattle

Seattle Chinese American Chamber of Commerce

Cheer Teams

1st Place: West Seattle High School Coed Cheer Team

2nd Place: Kennedy Catholic High School Cheer Team

3rd Place: Chief Sealth International High School Cheerleaders

Commercial

1st Place: Dragonfly

2nd Place: Equilibrium Therapy Group

3rd Place: Airport Towing, Burien Towing + Columbia Towing

Cars & Antique Cars

1st Place TIE:
Seattle Art Cars

Corvette Marque Club of Seattle

2nd Place: 1942 American LaFrance Fire Engine
3rd Place: Can Doo Pet Waste Service

Community Youth

1st Place: Southside Revolution Junior Roller Derby

2nd Place: Endolyne Children’s Choir

3rd Place: Hope School

Community Adult

1st Place: West Seattle Mrs. Ropers

2nd Place: F3 Seattle
3rd Place: West Seattle Lions Club

Drill Team Jr.

1st Place: Princess of Elegance

2nd Place: Babynettes Drill Team

3rd Place: Daughters of Royalty Drill and Dance Ensemble

Drill Team Sr.

1st Place: The Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team
2nd Place: Ladies of Elegance and Drumline
3rd Place: Electronettes Hi-Steppers Drill Team and Drumline

Conveyed Float

1st Place: Holy Rosary School
2nd Place: StarCycle
3rd Place: Calvary Chapel West Seattle

Seafair

1st Place: Seafair Pirates

2nd Place: Seafair Commodores

3rd Place: Seattle Seafair Clowns

ADDED 10;35 PM: Just got a photo of the judging team!

They fan out along the parade route to watch and evaluate.

(WSB photo by Oliver Hamlin)

Easy Street Records and Café proprietor Matt Vaughan was the epitome of cool in shades and hat as he rode down the West Seattle Grand Parade route as this year’s Grand Marshal.

Bonus iconic shot, Matt riding past his business:

Right behind him in another Corvette Manque Club of Seattle convertible was Kiwanis Club of West Seattle president Denis Sapiro, with this year’s Orville Rummel Trophy for Service to the Community:

Also riding in a convertible – we’re told this couple got the ride as a surprise from a relative/friend who won it at a fundraising auction for ArtsWest!

ADDED: Here’s the explanation, from the parade announcers’ script:

In a fantastic Corvette provided by the Corvette Marque Club, of Seattle we have supporters of ArtsWest, who through an auction donation have coordinated a great surprise for their Uncle Lloyd with an opportunity to ride in the West Seattle Grand Parade for his 80th Birthday! Kristine and her family helped set up this surprise; you may recognize Kristine and Lloyd through their involvement with West Seattle’s Center for Active Living. Uncle Lloyd is an active member of the Eagles Club as well.

More parade coverage to come – next up, we just received the list of winners!

This year for the first time in modern memory, the West Seattle Grand Parade had four announcing sites. In Admiral, near the start, Dan and Joanie Jacobs of the Admiral Neighborhood Association:

(WSB photos by Macey Wurm)

At California and Charlestown, Joel Draper and Karl Sutter of the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle:

Outside the West Seattle Eagles aerie, Tom Hutyler, best known as Voice of the Mariners at T-Mobile Park:

And the main longtime announcing site at Walk-All-Ways, with Brian and Christa Callanan:

If you missed – or want to relive – the entire hour-plus parade, here’s our unedited video, in 10 chronologically ordered chunks, recorded at California/Alaska (you’ll hear the Callanans announcing each passing entry, since our videographer was on the same corner):

(WSB videos by Torin Record-Sand)

We’ll have individual-entry clips (and photos) later in our upcoming reports (schools, cheer teams, and always best of all, the parade judges’ choices of winners).

Last reminder of the night that tomorrow (Saturday, July 18) brings the West Seattle Grand Parade, preceded by the Float Dodger 5K. Two scenes from this afternoon as hundreds prepared to participate:

The photos above and below are from Arlene Rubin, who happened upon this group outside a home in the Lowman Beach area where this group was working on their entry for the parade.

The Lions Club of West Seattle and local VFW Post 2713 are parade regulars. Meantime, we stopped in West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) this afternoon as they offered three hours of packet pickup and in-person registration for tomorrow’s Float Dodger 5K, which is presented by WSR with proceeds benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank.

More than 500 runners and walkers are registered to head out from Hiawatha Playfield at 9:30 am, down the parade route on California SW and back.

You still have time to register, either online or at Hiawatha right before tomorrow morning. After the Float Dodger – which is preceded by a free Kids’ Dash at 8:45 am – pick your parade-watching spot and settle in! There’ll be an announcing station in the Admiral area for the first time, one of four along the route. And whether you’re going or not, remember that California SW closes from just south of Admiral to just north of Dawson – a few extra blocks for staging and dispersal – at 8 am.

We’re less than 24 hours away from this year’s West Seattle Grand Parade, which starts at California/Lander at 11 am Saturday, heading southbound on California SW to SW Edmunds at the south end of The Junction. Here are more quick notes on what you will and won’t see (barring last-minute changes):

*Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum is set to bring its inflatable model of the PBY-5A “flying boat,” seen above in a museum photo from last fall’s Auburn Veterans Day Parade.

*Folkloric dancers – Panama Folklore Seattle is new this year; Joyas Mestizas are returning.

*Marching bands – the stars of summer parade season, the All-City Marching Band (celebrating their 75th anniversary tonight in West Seattle!), will be there, as well the Kennedy High School Marching Band and Cheer Team from Burien.

*Also cheering – Both the Chief Sealth IHS and West Seattle HS Cheer Teams are in the lineup.

*Biggest entry? Holy Rosary School usually has a sizable entourage but this year plans upward of 200 people, according to parade organizers.

Many, many more! As noted above, parades always have the chance of last-minute changes. And that goes for this one – the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team has canceled at the last minute, parade organizers tell us. So on the “loud entry” scale, you’ll have to settle for the Seafair Pirates‘ cannon!

Remember, the day begins with the Float Dodger 5K on the parade route starting at 9:30 am – not too late to register to run or walk, and if you’re already signed up, you can pick up your packet early, 3-6 pm today at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor), which presents the Float Dodger as a fundraiser for the West Seattle Food Bank.

(Matt and Kisha Vaughan accepting Retailer of the Year national award in May)

As mentioned here on Tuesday, when the West Seattle Grand Parade rolls onto California Avenue SW at SW Lander this Saturday at 11 am, Easy Street Records and Café proprietor Matt Vaughan will be riding in a Corvette Marque Club convertible as 2026 Grand Marshal. Parade organizers asked him to share reflections on what that’ll be like; here’s what he wrote:

I started working on California Ave when I was 16 years old, back in 1984, at Penny Lane Records (where the great men’s-clothing store Mystery Made is now, 4537 California Ave SW) . I then opened my own store in late ’87 and moved it where it is today in August of 1989. I’ve witnessed almost every West Seattle Grand Parade since, 5 decades worth.

California Ave has been my main street; there’s not a street anywhere in the world that I’ve travelled up and down more, that has brought me more friendly smiles, waves, and good times. My kids have gone to Madison Middle School and West Seattle High School. My wife Kisha is a fitness instructor at Inspire. There are so many great businesses all along California Ave. Family dinners, date nights, watching ball games with friends, book stores, grocery stores, delis, ice cream, coffees, wine shops, beers…I really don’t need to leave. To be the Grand Marshal of this year’s parade is so cool. I didn’t think I was old enough to be considered, but ok, I accept.

This parade has got to be one of the longest running in the state. I heard 1934, originally started by the American Legion. There are some other fun parades throughout King County, but many of them are corporate=sponsored. This isn’t. It’s truly a parade for the people, by the people. The Rotary Club of West Seattle puts this parade on. That organization is doing such great work. They create scholarships for our youth, toy drives for our youngsters, they help fund our local public-school music departments, as well as the West Seattle Big Band. Beyond all this, they are one of the great networking organizations for all of our small businesses in the area. If you are thinking of opening a small business, the Rotary Club can be of great service.

Youth, music, parade ! I’m in. Hope they got a Corvette for me. This is such a great honor; thanks to all that organize this annual event. Proud to live in West Seattle, raise a family here, and run a business here.

He’ll be riding right past that business – and its famous marquee – Saturday morning, July 18, in a parade with 85+ entries, including marching bands, folkloric dancers, dancing drill teams, costumed characters, community groups, service clubs, sports teams, cheer squads, classic cars, and more! There are great places to watch all along the route, which this year will have four announcing stands – California near the parade’s start, California at Charlestown, California north of Oregon at the Eagles’ HQ, and California/Alaska. More previews tomorrow – then on Saturday, we’ll see you at the parade!