GE O R GE TO W N E X P E R I E N CE
April 22-24
It's Back
by Ann Marie Kennon
THE POPPYFEST WE KNOW AND LOVE
W
ho would have guessed, when we watched the Red Poppy Festival parade in 2019, that we would not see another until nearly three years later? Happily, with most social restrictions relaxed or eliminated, Georgetown will host a traditional Poppy weekend April 22-24, including the Saturday morning parade and car show. Current weather predictions promise a lovely spring day, but the parade will go on, rain or shine. Parade coordinator Karen Frost says the parade is shaping up very nicely and she is excited about returning to the traditional schedule. She is also eager to implement some changes to make the parade even better this year; "The procession will have 40 entries, about half
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as many participants as our previous parade. This way there will be no stopping on the route and the spectators will enjoy the flow." The Poppy parade flips some of the features of the Christmas Stroll. Both parades begin with flags and standards but where the Stroll begins with the mayor and chiefs on a fire engine to start the show, the ladder truck is the big finale in the Poppy parade. Karen also says the Georgetown and East View bands take turns marching in the lead and there are several performance groups returning from previous parades. She adds, "We are just encouraging everyone to put on your red and come celebrate being back."
BACK IN STYLE Mayor Josh Schroeder is pleased about the prospect of his first Poppy parade since taking office, "I'm glad the festival is back to its original schedule. What better way to celebrate having all that lockdown business in our rear view mirror. The Poppy Festival has long been the keystone of all the events we have to celebrate Georgetown and bring people to the Square."
THE BUSINESS SIDE Mayor Schroeder said the perennial success of the Poppy Festival has laid the foundation for a Square that is now bustling with events. "In the early days, one of the aims of the festival was to draw people to
