'Hi, horsey!': Children cheered Thursday while watching the Marion Popcorn Festival parade

The shrill wail of a firetruck siren pierced the Thursday evening calm of downtown Marion, bringing everyone to attention for the Popcorn Festival Parade .

Children clapped as the color guard marched ahead during the highlight of the first night of the Popcorn Festival, which runs through Saturday evening .

Thousands of festivalgoers watched the parade as it progressed along Center Street.

Toward the front of the procession was Poppy, the giant bag of popcorn who has long served as the festival's mascot.

The spectacle included queens and princesses, cheer teams, antique cars and tractors, representatives of the military and even a flock of giant inflated chickens.

"There's a horsey!" a little girl wearing a colorful dress pointed and shouted. "Hi, horsey!"

Withrow honored for her national contributions

The guest of honor during the 2024 Marion Popcorn Festival Parade was Mary Ellen Withrow, a local woman who rose to national fame.

Withrow was elected in 1969 as the first woman to serve on the Elgin Local School Board of Election.

Then, in 1976, Withrow ran for Marion County treasurer and won. She was reelected in 1980.

Withrow then ran for Ohio treasurer. In 1982, she became the first woman to hold that office. She was elected twice after.

President Bill Clinton next nominated Withrow to be the Treasurer of the United States. In 1994, the U.S. Senate confirmed her, making her the first person to hold the office of treasurer at the local, state and national levels.

Family memories made during Popcorn Festival

Among the crowd Thursday night were Cody Pemberton and his son, Kaison, 3, both of Marion.

The boy thought for a moment about what his favorite float had been: "The trucks!" he finally said.

It was the first parade he had ever watched.

"Kaison, are you having fun?" his dad asked.

"Yeah!"

The boy held up a box of grape Nerds, one of several pieces of candy he collected during the parade.

"I didn't get a ball," Kaison said somberly.

But then his dad held up a big yellow orb of bouncy rubber, a smile painted on the side.

"Well I found one," his dad said. "Somebody was nice enough to give this to you."

Kaison's eye lit up as he took the ball and smiled − another memory to add to the collection found Thursday during the parade.

"This has been tremendous," Pemberton said as he held his son. "The amount of community response is phenomenal. I've never seen so many companies participate. It's come a long way wince I was a kid attending this."

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: 'Hi, horsey!': Children cheered Thursday while watching the Marion Popcorn Festival parade