Parade honors veterans

It was a busy Saturday for the Plains VFW. The group organized a parade that exceeded their expectations, hosted a gun show organized by the mayor who said that it was the biggest one he has ever held, and had live music and a dance that night.

Vehicles and participants lined up at The Circle at 11 a.m. Saturday for the VFW parade. Over the last few weeks, the VFW sent out information and worked with the American Legion post in Paradise to contact veterans to participate. They had no idea the turnout that they would end up having. "The cars just kept coming," said Heather Allen with the VFW, "We were very happy with the turnout." There was no estimate or count on the number of participating groups and vehicles in the parade, however it was one of the biggest parades Plains has seen in years, according to spectators.

Allen thinks that the turnout was a result of people missing having the Fair, which would have been held on the same weekend. The VFW holds a parade that day every year, however Allen says this may have been the biggest turnout she has seen. According to Allen the parade consisted of nearly 80% veterans and also featured nearly the entire Plains ambulance service, the rural fire department and police departments from both Plains and Thompson Falls, the patriot guard, legion and numerous other miscellaneous entries.

"Everybody wanted something, since the fair was cancelled. People are tired of just sitting inside," Allen said. The event was so successful that the VFW wants to do the same parade every year, and to set it aside as its own parade, which they would like to call the "Patriot Parade." They plan on holding it on a significant day, such as Veterans Day.

Saturday evening they hosted live music and dancing in the VFW. Throughout the day was a gun show organized by Plains Mayor Dan Rowan. He said the event was the most successful he has ever held, seeing an estimated 400 people throughout the day.