Photo: Banks Fire District
BANKS – Move over, Banks BBQ. There’s a new parade in town.
Starting at 6 p.m. today (Saturday, Dec. 21) and going along the same route as the popular summertime parade, the inaugural Banks Christmas Parade, with about 20 floats as of publishing time, is the first of its kind in Banks.
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The parade will begin at the north end of Main Street at the Banks Hardware parking lot, and then follow Main Street/Highway 47 to Sunset Park, where more Christmas festivities — featuring the Banks Christmas concert — will occur.
The idea for a parade came to Westside Mobile Media’s Trevor Beard, the online sports broadcaster of local high school sports, in September of this year.
He was joined by city councilor Marsha Duncan Kirk, Beard said, who was instrumental in growing the idea into a reality.
“[Kirk] spearheaded the effort to help get volunteers on board and in 2 months it went from basically just her and I and no chance to growing overnight,” Beard said.
The parade effort gained support from volunteers, local businesses, and local agencies, Beard said, including the city of Banks, Banks Fire District 13 — and Scott Adams, a volunteer and public information officer with the district — and more.
Beard also gave a shout-out to Kathryn and Mike Fitzpatrick, Brian Fitzpatrick and Jackie Fitzpatrick VanDyke, Yeah Dude Racing, Penni Maahs Carmin, Kim Herr-Cason and Jim Cason, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and all the parade participants.
Want to join in the fun? Line up on the streets, or enter a float until 5 p.m. today by dropping by the log cabin and paying a $20 registration fee.
As for next year, Beard says he hopes to see it grow, and perhaps join a variety of other Christmas events in Banks on the same day.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
