2016 Albion Strawberry Festival

And, another Strawberry Festival is in the Albion, NY history books! It was a great two day event……the sun was out……the rain held off……the crowds came……and there was lots of fun and excitement for all ages!

Here are some highlights of the festival and the parade (except – no food photos – for food photos, you’ll have to click here cause they got a post all their own):

Strawberry and Strawberry Shortcake were a big hit with young and old alike!

THE PARADE:

The ever popular Hit Men entertained along the route before the parade started

Looks like he was saluting the Virgin Mary!

My great nephew, Nolen, looking up the street to see if the parade was coming, yet!

And…….the Knight’s of Columbus are up to start off the parade

Our new sheriff – Randy Bower

Orleans County Sheriff’s department is ready to serve and protect on land…..and sea!!!

Albion Fire Department Mascot!

Albion Fire Department – equipment as far as you can see! They do a great job!

Santa and Mrs. Claus and a couple of their elves……

Festival Royalty

Rochester Scottish Pipe and Drum

Of course, there were clowns!

Strawberry Festival Turtle reminding everyone of the Turtle Race later in the day

Here come all the little league clubs!

Just a little parade put on for a few of our closest friends…..

There were miniature cars…..

…..and miniature trailer trucks…..

….and miniature fruit and veggie stands!

And, old cars – like this 1929 Ford Model A carrying members of the Orleans County Historical Assoc

….and, this gorgeous Cadillac….that needed a little help!

….uphill…..

The Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies are always quite the crowd pleasers

And, of course, there were marching bands…..

Lots of marching bands wearing all kinds of vibrant colors

Like The Mighty St. Joe’s

And, Down Beat Percussion…..the drum line for the Buffalo Bills football team

And, even bands that didn’t march, but put smiles on our faces, just the same!

Ron and Jill Albertson advertised the upcoming Rock The Park fundraiser to rebuild Bullard Park – a float with some of the musicians that will be playing at the fundraiser followed behind them

There were alpacas…..

…..and dogs…..

….and strawberry babies!!! aaaawwww – how cute are they!!!???

Several floats were quite creative, in deed!

Like this one…..this is my landscaper and, as great as this float looks, he does an even better job on a real yard!!!

Popeye even showed up to say “Hi”!!!

Albion’s finest…..with lights a flashin’

And, the grand finale of the parade was our own Albion HS Purple Eagles Marching Band!!!

BRAVO!!!

THE FESTIVAL:

New this year was a chalk art competition – there were some fantastic examples!

CLICK HERE for more photos of this amazing competition on the Orleans Hub

No festival is complete without an antique car show

How about a leisurely ride around town in a horse drawn carriage???

Courthouse Square was alive with craft vendors

There was live music everywhere…..whatever kind of music you like, you probably found it!

This is The Who Dats – the guy with the print shirt in the middle is my friend, John Borello!

A guy built this amazing display out of Legos!!! He showcased it at the Hazy Jade Gift Shop

Fun and games for all ages…..a personal favorite of mine is I Got It! I played $5 worth of games – won one game and gave the token to the little girl who was sitting next to me (I like to play, love to win, but don’t really want the prizes)!

Turtle wishing us luck in the Turtle Race

This booth provided information about the Charles W. Howard (Santa Claus) statue planned for downtown! Fundraising for this project is in process!

So……there were several things I didn’t get photos of…..so much to do spread out all over down town – hard to see it all and do it all!!! But, I gave it a good shot! Until next year…….have a great summer!