MAIFEST PARADE BRINGS CELEBRATIONS TO DOWNTOWN BRENHAM
Over 50 floats made their way down Main Street in Brenham today (Saturday) for the 127th Maifest Parade.
There was something for everyone in the parade- from dancing sharks and marching bands, to trolls and jedi masters.
Senior King and Queen Jacob Pyle and Gracie Westerfeld sat on top of a beautiful white float, clothed in beach themed formal wear to match their court’s theme of “Fly Me to Paradise”.
“This means so much to us” said Westerfeld. “We’ve had such a great experience.”
Junior Queen Victoria Dippel chose to go with a mermaid themed dress, train, and mantel. “I wanted to wear something that a mermaid would love” said Dippel.
Meanwhile, Junior King Samuel Clepper donned a Star Wars themed ensemble. “I love Star Wars, so I wanted to be a Star Wars King” said Clepper.
Clepper and Dippel were crowned King and Queen at the Junior Coronation at Fireman’s Park Friday night during an elaborate ceremony. “I’ve had a wonderful time and I just want to thank everyone who has participated” added Clepper.
The volunteer fire departments from Washington County were there in support of Maifest as they drove their fire trucks in the parade, as well as the Shriners, local officials, and the Burton and Brenham high school and Blinn College marching bands.
The festival continues at Fireman’s Park today with a German Village showcasing Brenham’s heritage and the Kinder Village with activities for young visitors. German Music and Folk Dancing, children’s activities, beer tastings and local live country music will fill the day.
The Senior Coronation will be held at 7 p.m. tonight, as former royalty and high school students provide entertainment for the outdoor event.
Sorry for “raining on your parade” but it HAS NOT always been this way. Maifest parades 20 years ago were jam packed with marching bands and many entries! There were TWO parades, one on Friday morning with floats filled with elementary aged children and one on Saturday morning filled with high school participants. Bands came from area high schools like Bellville and Somerville, as well as Blinn College, Prairie View A&M and even some high schools outside the general area like Schulenburg. The parades lasted an hour and the floats were right behind one another. Maifest is NOT like it used to be. People that grew up here used to make a special trip to come back and certainly made sure their children and sometimes grandchildren were in the parade as well. It used to be fun. It used to be a big deal. But over the years so many ‘new’ ideas have been pushed into the local traditions that they just ‘aren’t ‘ tradition any more.
The parade was great! The kids costumes were cute and gorgeous. The little ones put a huge smile on my face because they are so adorable and happy! The parade is such a lovely venue to get our community together in one area! Plus it gives me a chance to to go to our stores downtown. Love, love, LOVE the parade!
Why are there such long spaces between the parade entries? I don’t think I can fully understand how it could be so difficult for the drivers to keep up with the float in front of it. I sat on Main Street and there were numerous occasions where the last float that went by would already be going by the court house before the next entry would round the corner on Austin Pkwy. It makes you think maybe the parade is over and you want to get up and leave. And this is not just a Maifest problem. Every parade I’ve been to in downtown Brenham is the same. An hour and a half long parade in Brenham can be done in probably 30-45 minutes if they can just maintain spacing. It just looks bad, poorly coordinated, and a waste of time.
Bah humbug!!
“Stringing out ” the floats has always been that way…..makes the parade boring inspite of how pretty everything is……maybe they need more entries so they are spacing them so the parade lasts longer…..but people really don’t care for that…..quit going to the parade for this very reason…..don’t like being a negative and complaining person but this is a true fact.
What a lovely colourful parade. Well done Brenham.