Hundreds enjoy two-hour parade

    Everybody loves a parade, and the 2010 Dodge City Days Western Parade, presented by the Dodge City chapter of AMBUCS, was one for the books.
    Clocking in at just under two hours long, the parade had something for everyone.
    Rolling out of the Civic Center staging area right on time, a police car with lights flashing led the Patriot Guard onto the route.
    Along the way, the Patriot Guard was one of several units garnering applause from the onlookers, along with the VFW Post 1714 float, the National Guard unit and, of course, the mayor and a city commissioner or two cleaning up at the end.
    The forefront of the parade met all the requirements: The Patriot Guard was followed by a horse unit of nearly 50 riders, the first of several equestrian units in the parade.
    It's always good to see horses in a parade that honors Dodge City's history, and it's especially nice to see the youngest riders among the ranks — partly because they're obviously having a great time, and partly because it means the western traditions are being passed on.
    Then came parade marshals Jack and Jane Dalton, and the parade was officially under way.

Marking a milestone
    The theme of the parade was "Celebrating 50 Years," honoring the milestone achieved this year by the Dodge City Days festival, and many of the entries incorporated the theme into their floats.
    The winning entry in the commercial category, Cargill Meat Solutions, featured 3-foot replicas of 19 past Dodge City Days lapel pins.
    Several of the floats featured birthday cakes. The Alley's entry even included birthday presents — dancing ones, at that.
    A few entries took their inspiration from the earliest years of the event, which dates back to 1960. One float included a guitar player dressed in psychedelic bell bottoms, and a lone hippie walked down the street carrying a "Make Love Not War" sign.
    At least one entry could boast of a history that pre-dates Dodge City: The Fort Dodge banner proudly said, "Established 1865."

The four elements of a parade

Water
    Years ago, someone got the bright idea to take a super-sized water pistol along on their float and sprinkle people along the route. It might have been a goodwill gesture aimed at cooling people off, but more likely, the intentions were mischievous.
    Not long after the first soakers appeared on floats — probably the next year, in fact — some creative parade watcher decided to shoot back, and the battle was on.
    Now that weapons were drawn, the only way to gain an advantage was by escalating size and power.
    Hi-Plains Martial Arts was the first unit with significant firepower Saturday, but that was just the beginning.
    An onlooker at Second and Spruce confidently squirted the driver of the Bud Light truck, only to be doused when the driver pulled out a surprise soaker.
    Victory Electric's semi rig lumbered down Second Avenue with horn honking, boasting what appeared to be the tallest structure in the parade. The structure came complete with high-powered and endlessly supplied super hoses, putting the soakers to shame and upping the water war stakes.
    The Credit Union of Dodge City float took a gentler approach when it showered the crowd with bubbles instead of water.
    But the Dodge City Fire Department trumped everyone with its regional airport fire unit, which was impressive on its own. The massive tank-like vehicle drew one of the largest crowd reactions when the crew demonstrated the industrial-strength, remote-controlled fire hose on the front.
    It was aimed at the street, not the crowd.
    
Music and noise
    It's not a parade without a marching band, but marching bands are harder to come by than they used to be. The Dodge City Cowboy Band, however, provided great parade music.
    Now that mobile music machines are easier to power, many floats provided their own sound tracks, and at least two featured live music: Bilingual Ministries showcased live rock and roll, while Victory Life Fellowship presented singer/songwriter David Worth Hinton.
    Watching from near Carnegie Center for the Arts, a couple of Dodge City Community College students introduced a new element: the vuvuzela.

Candy
    Parade organizers have struggled for years with the candy issue. It's easy to see why they worry: Kids excited about the possibility of scoring a 10-cent piece of candy creep closer and closer to the passing vehicles.
    A float where riders handed cold cans of pop off the side drew a horde of youngsters dangerously close and an officer patrolling the route.
    The more safety-minded entries used the float as home base and sent walkers with buckets to hand out goodies to the crowd.
    United Wireless representatives walked along the edge of the crowd, handing out sweets and bottles of cold water from several iced kiddie pools on their float. They also impressed the crowd with a T-shirt gun, which shot T-shirts high in the air and into the hands of a lucky parade-goer.
    Candy was not the only giveaway. Of course, all the politicians had flyers. And Western Plains Medical Center handed out bright red Frisbees.

Fun
    Fun is the key element of the parade, from the creativity of the floats to the smiles on the faces of both those in the parade and those watching.
    Crotts Aircraft Service brought a real plane with the propeller spinning.
    Dodge City's agricultural heritage was honored by the appearance of four John Deere tractors from the late 1940s on trailers. They were followed later in the parade by an antique John Deere tractor making its way down the street on its own power in a cloud of blue smoke.
    The DCCC cheerleaders came down the street, and the vuvuzelas went crazy.
    Where else can you see your favorite Girl Scout cookies walking down the street?
    Where else can you see a gunfight in front of Bank of America?
    Where else can you see a pretty girl in a bathing suit and cowboy boots?

Putting it together
    The Dodge City chapter of AMBUCS organized this year's parade.
    "The Chamber of Commerce organized the parade for a couple of years then asked us if the club would be interested in doing it," Ken Davis, assistant chair of the parade committee, said in a phone interview Sunday. "We have the golf tournament next weekend and we do inflatable 'bouncers' several nights at the rodeo, so we have plenty to do to keep busy during Dodge City Days. But we thought the parade would be a good community service for us."
    The local AMBUCS chapter was chartered in 1982 and recently reached 75 members for the first time.
    "That's a milestone that we'll get recognized for at the national convention," Davis said.
    AMBUCS' mission is to create mobility and independence for people with disabilities. The club fulfills its mission by donating AmTryke therapeutic tricycles, awarding scholarships to therapists and various forms of community service.
    "We had about 130 entries, some with multiple units, and we thought the parade went smooth," Davis said. "We had five impartial judges and with computer tabulation, we were able to announce the winners down at the barbecue contest as they announced their winners."

Passing by
    Life along Second Avenue got back to normal quickly when the last parade entry passed by.
    The kids hurried home to inventory their candy. The adults went home to get ready for the Sawyer Brown concert. And an ice cream truck ambled by, blaring "O Come All Ye Faithful."
    Welcome to Dodge City Days.

Reach Don Steele at (620) 408-9910 or e-mail him at don.steele@dodgeglobe.com.

For photos of the Dodge City Days Parade click here