San Diego invites city float to join its parade
By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — Directors of San Diego’s nationally televised Holiday Bowl parade have for the past 10 years been trying to make their pageant one of the best, not just in the United States but worldwide.
To accomplish that, parade organizers have invited a marching band from Japan, a drill team from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and today have more large inflatable balloons — 25 — than the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York.
Holiday Bowl organizers also have been scouting out other parades across the country for unique floats.
Enter Marysville’s Strawberry Festival float, invited this year for the first time to be among the floats in the Holiday Bowl parade on Dec. 28 and one of only three Washington cities to capture the honor.
"We’re really excited to have their float down here," Holiday Bowl parade director Mark Neville said in a telephone interview. "They definitely will enhance the quality of our parade."
Marysville’s float was singled out from among 28 floats during Seattle’s Seafair parade in July — one of several parades the Strawberry Festival float participates in across the state each year.
And it may have been hard for parade organizers from sunny San Diego to resist the Marysville float. Dubbed "Strawberry Tropics," the float includes palm trees sprouting with strawberries instead of coconuts, a smoking volcano, a waterfall and pond, and lots of colorful birds and orchids.
Jodi Haitt, managing director of Maryfest Inc., the nonprofit group that puts on the Marysville Strawberry Festival each year, came up with the float theme, which changes each year.
Marysville joins floats from Olympia and Puyallup as the three cities representing Washington in the Holiday Bowl parade.
Carol Kapua, Maryfest director, says she’s glad to have the chance to display the Strawberry Festival on national television "as an ambassador for our wonderful city."
"It’s pretty exciting to think that our small community of Marysville could put out a float that would attract attention outside of our Northwest hosting group of Oregon, Washington and Canada," Kapua said. "It’s a good representation for the city."
Although Holiday Bowl organizers are contributing to Maryfest to offset the cost of transporting the Strawberry Festival float to California, the three festival volunteers who will travel to San Diego must pay their own way. Those wishing to donate to the float trip may send their contributions to Maryfest Inc., P.O. Box 855, Marysville, WA 98270. For more information about the Strawberry Festival float, call Carol Kapua at 360-659-4706.
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
