Saco Fun Day Parade another success

Five minutes after riding shotgun in a red, 1965 and a half Ford Mustang as the Saco Fun Day Parade's Grand Marshall, James A. Hanson was right back in his comfort zone, i.e. handing out balloons from the bed of his pickup.

"If you have ever gotten a balloon at Saco Fun Days," Parade emcee Chris Pippen announced to the crowd of over 200 on hand for the parade, "you probably got it from him."

"There are so many people out here who have done way more than I have to deserve this honor," said Hanson. "They said they wanted me to be Grand Marshall and I am honored to do it."

Hanson has been handing out balloons at the Saco Fun Days for over twenty years and said he started doing it to see people smile. Prior to the balloons, Hanson started putting up American Flags around town during Fun Days about 30 years ago.

"I just wanted to spice up Saco Fun Days a little bit," Hanson laughed.

Hanson has been to each of the Saco Fun Days since they started 51 years ago. He said at the first event, when he was just 15, there were more horses than people, but added that he was happy to see so many folks turn out for the event.

"This is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends," he said. "People also treat it as a class reunion. If you haven't seen someone in a while, you always have a good chance of meeting up with them back here. You never know who is going to show up and sometimes you see people here who you haven't seen in years and years."

On Friday night, the folks in attendance at Saco Fun Days were treated to a free BBQ with meat provided from Pay N Save.

"It was excellent," Hanson said. "We had roast pork and all kinds of salads that people brought. We had it over in the new shop building and it was just a wonderful night."

As the parade started on Saturday morning – with Robert Ploufe and Dick Caves leading the Color Guard – it looked as if the rain would fall on the heads of spectators lined up on Front Street. But, as luck would have it, only a few drops hit the ground (in fact, about 2,000 times more candy hit the ground, flung from the hands of the folks on the floats to the delight of the children who, no doubt, didn't have to worry about sweet tooth cravings on Saturday night.)

As the parade floats made their way down Front Street – and then back again – Pippen and his wife, Heidi, owners of Pippin DJ&Karaoke, narrated the event. Following the parade, Scott said this year's parade might have been a little smaller than last year's, but only because last year was Saco Fun Day's 50th Celebration.

"I think it went really well," he said. "The weather held out and it was a good parade."

The First place parade float winner was Saco Dehy, second was Mike Johnson from Farm Equipment Services and third was John Crotto from Crotto Construction with his 1935 Model T.

On Sunday there was a community breakfast followed by a horseshoe tournament. Look for results – if any are to be had – in next week's PCN.