Hundreds of families, visitors and local residents lined the main street through downtown Port Huron Wednesday, as the Rotary International Day Parade got underway.
Most kids said their favorite part was collecting candy tossed out by marchers and from floats.
But for many others, the annual parade — kicking off Boat Week festivities ahead of Saturday’s 100th Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race — was a tradition to turnout and show their support for friends, family members, and the community at large.
“I have a friend in Mount Clemens and they’ve never really seen the Blue Water Area, and I’ve been taking pictures … (sending) them pictures of my grandkids, showing them like the Harrington Hotel, and we’ve been (down) by the river,” said Jennifer Leslie, who was at the side of Military Street before the parade started Wednesday. “This area, we take for granted the water.”
Leslie, or “Mimi” to the kids, watched on as Leilani Nichols, 3, and Isabella Kirkendall, 9, took turns dancing in the middle of the empty street, while her grandson DeAndre Kirkendall, 2, sat beside her.
Nearby Chris and Tanya Nantroup, of Croswell, sat with 3-year-old Geneiveve ahead of the parade. They had two kids in the parade with a local gymnastics group.
Their 3-year-old said he favorite part was the candy — as expected. “She’s only here for the throw-outs,” Chris said. Tanya added, “She has a little bag so she can collect anything that they want to throw toward her.”
Farther north downtown, as the parade made its way past, local resident Kay Yurgens danced at the side of Huron Avenue. She soon after retreated to the sidewalk and came back with two handfuls of noisy bells.
Like others, Yurgens said she was there to support people marching with multiple organizations — or rather, “all the people who do good things” for the community.
Boat Week fun continues Thursday after 4 p.m. into Friday and Saturday. The 100th sailboat race is Saturday morning.
For more information, visit https://thebluewaterfest.com.
Contact reporter Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.
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