Floatin’ Down Main

Parade will kick off Friday fair festivities.

Many organizations, including the Mina Shriners, seen here in 2016, participate in the Gillespie County Fair Parade annually. This year’s parade will take place Aug. 27. — Standard-Radio Post file photo

Citizens and visitors alike will line up along the side-walks of Main Street as the 133rd Gillespie County Fair Parade rolls through on Friday, Aug. 27.

Entrants are expected to begin lining up after 7 a.m.

Judging of the entries will begin at 8:30 a.m., while the parade will start promptly at 10 a.m.

Online entries can be made at https://gillespiefair.com/gillespiecounty-fair

Forms will not be mailed unless requested.

For this year’s parade, Jason Priess serves as the chairperson while Edward Stroeher, Marvin Crenwelge, Art Pressler and Lindsay Pressler are co-chairs.

Parade day volunteers will help arrange entries ranging from floats, to new and old vehicles, to flatbed trailers, to horsemen.

There will be commercial entries serving as mobile advertising for their products or services, and others will represent churches, civic groups and other area organizations seeking to get their message seen by thousands of parade viewers.

The parade grand marshals are to be announced.

This year’s fair catalog honorees are Wallace Britton and Ronnie Ersch.

Other dignitaries in the parade will include the contestants seeking the title of the 2022 Gillespie County Fair Queen.

Fredericksburg and Harper high school marching bands will take part in the parade, and floats from area communities and fairs throughout Central and South Texas will seek to bring patrons to their own events.

Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association officials said they appreciate the county for the use of Courthouse Square as a staging area and the City of Fredericksburg for providing personnel from the street and police departments to help direct traffic and pace the procession. A few rules must be observed by participants and parade watchers. • All vehicles in the parade must be able to navigate the entire parade route and make all turns and clearances without difficulty. It is the responsibility of each driver to see to it that their vehicle or float clears all obstacles and can maneuver turns. If the route includes a

U-turn, parade entries must be able to maneuver and make a U-turn in one motion (no reversing). Participants must design their entry in length, width and height to meet this requirement. Floats and entries cannot exceed the 13 feet, 6 inch height limit from ground to top of float/entry. • To reduce gaps, vehicles should maintain their speed to the pace of a slow walk and stay within two to three car lengths of the preceding entry. • Entries are not allowed to stop or impede the forward motion of the parade at any time with performances, dancing, stopping to rev engines, or any

other action that alters parade movement. Performing groups should choreograph routines to always maintain forward motion. • No candy or other enticements will be thrown/handed from any entry to spectators. • No jumping on or off moving entries: Parade participants may not jump, dance, ride, bike, roller skate, roller-blade, skateboard, or move in any way onto or off any moving float or vehicle. • Entries should never stop on the parade ending street/road at any time for unloading to allow for all entries to safely exit the parade route.

• Water guns and spraying of water by any means is prohibited. • No alcohol may be consumed by float drivers or anyone operating an entry during the event. • No music, sirens, air-horns, firing of re-enactment weapons, or other noises that exceed 85 decibels without prior approval from the City of Fredericksburg. • Precautions to protect against

COVID-19 will be following guidelines laid out by the City of

Fredericksburg.

Parade watchers should bring their own water as the event can last a while.

All parade information as subject to change.

Updates will be announced in the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post, on the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association website at gillespiefair.com and the fair association’s Facebook page.

Local volunteer fire departments may also participate. Seen here in 2014, Dale Heimann of the Willow City Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department shows the parade crowd his rappelling abilities.