GRANITE FALLS — The downtown streets fill with hundreds of people on the first Saturday of October each year.
They gather for the grand parade. It’s the highlight of Railroad and Reunion Days, the town’s largest annual celebration. The festival honors the area’s history of rail lines and steam trains that carried ore down from mining towns such as Monte Cristo.
The main parade starts at noon this Saturday, after a children’s parade at 11:30 a.m.
Railroad Days also includes gatherings for former students who graduated from Granite Falls High School. It’s a chance to reconnect with friends and classmates, according to event organizers. The class of 1966 has its 50th reunion scheduled in conjunction with Railroad Days.
Meanwhile, current students are among the groups that plan to march in the parade. Classes, clubs and teams are signed up for the procession, including the Shell Eco Car team and the Tiger Pride marching band.
Local businesses and organizations also participate. Drill, dance and performance groups come in from out of town. They include the lively West Coast Country Heat dancers and the Seattle Seafair Pirates. Car clubs, churches, restaurants, civic groups and veterans organizations are among the parade entrants this year, as well.
The list of vehicles for the parade is a colorful mishmash of fire engines, school buses, pickup trucks with trailers, tractors, eco cars, vintage cars and precisely six shopping carts and one pirate ship.
Restaurants and street vendors plan to offer specials or set up booths Saturday for a street fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Granite Avenue.
Carnival rides are going up in the field between the IGA and Alfy’s Pizza. The rides open Friday.
The Granite Falls Historical Museum also is open for tours during Railroad Days.
This year marks the 51st Railroad Days celebration in Granite Falls. The National Weather Service forecast for this weekend calls for a chance of rain showers, so parade goers are encouraged to dress for the weather.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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