Parade to roll Saturday afternoon
By Donnie A. Lucas
The shrill tones of the calliope and the clanging of the bell on the Texas Central Express will echo down Albany’s Main Street once again on Saturday as part of the annual Fort Griffin Fandangle parade.
The parade will kick toff at 5:00 p.m. with longtime narrator Connie Wood as the Grand Marshal.
Wood has been the female narrator of the show since 1977.
Entries for the parade picked up over the last week, but organizers are still encouraging anyone interested to sign up.
“We are extending the deadline until Friday (tomorrow) at 5:00 p.m., “ co-chairman Ragan Riley said. “We have gotten several entries this week and are expecting three to five floats, but we can always use more.”
There is no cost to sign up for the parade, and cash prizes will be handed out in several categories.
Anyone interested in participating can fill out an entry form at the Fandangle office, and additional sponsors are also being sought to provide funding for prize money and trophies.
Currently there are five local sponsors including ResourceCare, Buds For You, The Albany News, Susan and Steve Waller, and Sassifrass.
Awards will be handed out to first through third place winners in several categories, with cash prizes given in four categories including Best Fandangle Theme Float, Best Horse Troupe (at least three riders), Best Classic Car, and Best ‘Western’ Ride (buggies, wagons, prairie schooners, etc).
Other categories include Most Authentic, Best Horseman, Most Creative, Judges Choice, Loudest Entry (car horns and sirens not included), Best Horse, Best Classic Car we would like to own, and Best Single Person entry.
Winners will be announced at the Prairie Theater shortly before the start of the Saturday evening performance.
Entrants are asked to line up on Griffin Road near Nancy Smith Elementary at 4:00 p.m. Each entrant should check in with either Riley or co-chairman Shannon Leech on arrival to be assigned a parade number sign that the judges will use and be given instructions on where to line up.
“Getting everyone to the right place in the line-up is hard,” Riley said. “If everyone can get there by 4:00 p.m. it would help us out.”
The parade will travel down Main Street and then circle the courthouse and return to the starting point.
The parade will lead off with Louann George playing the steam-powered calliope, followed by the Fandangle’s flag parade riders.
Riley said that more sponsors are needed to help fund the event.
“We only have five signed up so far, and it would really help to have a few more,” she said.
Sponsors are asked to contact the Fandangle office or drop by to sign up.
For more information about entering the parade or becoming a sponsor, call the Fandangle office at 325-762-3838.
